Philadelphia Clergy Join Protests Over Ferguson, Mo. Police Shooting
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A group of Philadelphia pastors is joining clergy from around the country in Ferguson, Mo., marching beside protesters demanding justice for Michael Brown. The 18-year-old black man was unarmed when Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, shot and killed him.
The clergy were planning a march later today to protest the prosecuting attorney in the case.
They began arriving in Ferguson on Sunday and, one by one, the half-dozen Philadelphia leaders have joined peaceful protesters in marches across that city.
But they were not immune to the realities of police force.
"We didn't see any objects thrown, but officers started blaring out on their loudspeaker, 'Disperse now!' " says Rev. Mark Tyler, pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, in Queen Village.
He joined protesters near St. Louis on Monday and walked through tear gas after peaceful protests turned rowdy.
"You couldn't see, and every time you breathed in, it was burning," he recalls.
Today, the group was joining hundreds of clergy in a march outside St. Louis prosecutor Bob McCollough's office in Clayton, Mo.
"We are standing with the people of Ferguson and calling for his recusal, and for the indictment and the arrest of the officer who killed Michael Brown," says Rev. Leslie Callahan of Philadelphia.
That march is organized by Pico Network.
A prayer vigil is also scheduled tonight in Philadelphia, 7pm, at the Living Water United Church of Christ, in the Oxford Circle section of the city. Details at https://www.facebook.com/LivingWaterUCC
