Rep. Luis Gutierrez: Ferguson Decision ‘Saddened’ Me

"My wife and I were watching it on TV as most of Americans. We were very saddened by fact -- of the decision, of the jury in Ferguson. We had hoped there would be a trial, in a full, and a complete hearing of all of the issues surrounding the death of young Brown. That didn’t happen. So, you know, we were saddened for the family, the parents. We’re parents, too. We had hope — we’re also saddened about the violence. Violence has no place in remembering this young man and his life. We hope people will heed the parents.

Yes, you need to raise your voice when you see injustice, but you need to do it in a peaceful and nonviolent manner, and in a manner that garners public support. Looting and burning down the businesses only hurts the community. It doesn’t help the community and it doesn't help this cause. Look, let’s hope — one of the positive things, Jose, watching all the solidarity that came from Latino civil rights organizations across the country, Asian, African from all across the country kind of solidarity we saw. I’m very very happy that I saw that kind of solidarity last night.

And, lastly, I just  want to say the police in Chicago — the police that I work with are great men and women. They put their lives on the line every day and I’m sure that that happens in city. But unfortunately, there are some police officers you don’t want your young teenagers to come in contact with and we need to fix that problem."