U.S. Conference of Mayors President Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson Issues Statement on Grand Jury Ruling in Ferguson, MO

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Nov 24, 2014, 10:06 ET

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. Conference of Mayors President and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson issued the following statement in response to the grand jury ruling in Ferguson, MO:

"Once again, our hearts go out to the family of Michael Brown who tragically lost his life much too soon, as well as to the entire Ferguson community, which has endured the consequences of this event and its aftermath. The nation's mayors strongly believe that there should have been open-court proceedings in the case of the officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown so that the evidence could have been presented in a public forum, and a verdict could have been rendered by a jury.

"We hope that prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch will release the full transcript and audio proceedings of the Grand Jury as he promised in September. This will ensure that Michael Brown's family, as well as the community and the American public will have a greater understanding of what happened on August 9. As leaders of cities across the country, we are committed to working with our communities to ensure that this tragedy is never repeated.

"There is an understandable feeling of discontent in the community, and there will no doubt be protests. Our hope is that any demonstrations that occur will be peaceful and nonviolent so that we can begin to heal from this difficult time."

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

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SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors