For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Sue Walitsky 202-320-0819
November 24, 2014
Cardin Statement on the Grand Jury Decision in the Michael Brown Shooting
Case
BALTIMORE U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) released the following
statement in response to the Ferguson grand jury decision in the Michael
Brown shooting case.
Ferguson, Missouri, will forever be marked by the needless death of
Michael Brown. Let¹s turn this incident into the spark that launches a
change in attitudes and actions rather than a point where violence begets
more violence. I join with the Brown family in calling for peaceful
protests in the aftermath of the grand jury¹s decision. State and local
law enforcement must respect the First Amendment rights of citizens to
peaceably assemble, and the rights of the press to report this story. I
call upon all Americans even those who disagree with the grand jury
decision to respect the role of our jury system and the independence of
the courts in deciding legal questions.
I encourage the Justice Department to continue its civil rights
investigation into this case and its broader probe of the Ferguson Police
Department. I urge Attorney General Holder to take immediate action to
revise the Justice Department¹s guidance so that once and for all racial
profiling is prohibited at all levels of law enforcement. For a more
permanent fix, Congress should take up and pass my legislation, the End
Racial Profiling Act.