Ferguson erupts in violence after grand jury decision

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Forty-four people were arrested during a second, calmer night of demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, after a grand jury declined to indict a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in August, police said early on Wednesday.

By comparison, 61 arrests were made late Monday and into early Tuesday during a night of arson, looting, vandalism and sporadic gunfire that police countered with volleys of tear gas and smoke bombs.

More: A new wave of protests against police | Photos that define the Ferguson protests | Grand jury: Ferguson shooting details

Some 2,000 National Guard troops were on hand to help ward off a second night of violence.

President Obama appealed for dialogue, and his attorney general promised that a federal probe into the Aug. 9 slaying of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, would be rigorous.

Officer Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot him, said his conscience was clear.- Tribune wire reports