*President Obama on Thursday delivered a statement about the chaos in Ferguson, Missouri, where a militarized police force has been firing rubber bullets and spraying tear gas at residents peacefully protesting the murder of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager shot to death Aug. 9 by a police officer.
“There is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism and looting,” Obama said from Martha’s Vineyard, where he has been on vacation. “There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.
These are the president’s first public remarks on the matter since Brown was killed on Saturday. Obama issued a statement earlier this week, calling Brown’s death “heartbreaking.”
