Matthew Casey, Yihyun Jeong and Justin Price

The Republic azcentral.com

Two groups of demonstrators — one peaceful, one agitated — took to the streets of downtown Tempe on Monday night in protest of a grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson, a White man who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager in August.

About 60 people showed up at Tempe Town Lake following the announcement Monday night but splintered into two groups after a verbal dispute over protest tactics.

One group walked toward the Tempe police station and courts building chanting expletives and anti-police sentiments. The other group calmly walked in a different direction.

Both perspectives are necessary to evoke change, said Monica Jones, who was marching to police headquarters. She compared the her group with Malcolm X's followers and the other side with Martin Luther King Jr.'s.

"They say justice is blind, but that is false," Jones said.

At issue is what led to the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of Brown in Ferguson. Police have said Wilson shot Brown, 18, after Brown tried to grab Wilson's gun after a struggle inside Wilson's patrol vehicle. Witnesses have said Wilson shot Brown as Brown raised his hands to surrender.

A federal investigation of the shooting is ongoing. The incident set off weeks of protests and, at times, violent clashes between demonstrators and police.

A dozen grand jurors met for more than 100 days before they determined there was not probable cause to charge Wilson with one of five crimes ranging from first degree murder to manslaughter, St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced Monday night.

Ferguson is a predominantly Black suburb of St. Louis. McCulloch announced the decision in Clayton, Mo., also a St. Louis suburb, where the grand jury had been meeting. He described the incident as tragic, but said whether Brown's hands were raised was not consistent among witness testimony.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne and civil-rights leaders gathered Monday afternoon to urge for peaceful demonstrations in anticipation of a decision.

"Violence or disorder would subtract from any message people want to send," Horne told reporters.

A separate protest slated to take place at the Sandra Day O'Connor federal courthouse in downtown Phoenix had drawn only three people as of about 8:30 p.m.

Channel Powe and her 14-year-old son, Jerod Martin, wondered why more people hadn't show up.

"It is important to be present and to be a voice," she said. "I think it's very important that we do talk about (the verdict). It's a harsh and it hurts."