FERGUSON, Mo. (Reuters) - It was a riot everyone saw coming. For three months police and protesters had drilled separately to prepare for the worst if the grand jury decided not to indict white policeman Darren Wilson for the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown.
The governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, and police chiefs met repeatedly with the leaders of some protest groups that had emerged in the town of Ferguson in the aftermath of the Aug. 9 shooting. Both sides preached peace; both said they wanted to avoid violence.