Attorney General Eric Holder told residents of Ferguson, Missouri — the scene of heated protests since the death of an unarmed teen — that he understands their mistrust of law enforcement, saying as a black man, he too has been confronted by police. 
 
 “I understand that mistrust. I am the attorney general of the United States. But I am also a black man,” Holder said at a meeting Wednesday with community leaders and students at the Florissant Valley Campus of St. Louis Community College, according to excerpts of his speech. 
 
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 reset Holder spoke to Brown family 'as a father' Holder meets Police Chief Ron Johnson 
 
 Holder recounted to the group of 50 how he was stopped in New Jersey twice, accused of speeding as officers searched his car. 
 
 “I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was and the impact it had on me,” he said. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Why Obama can’t go there) 
 
 Holder also recalled how he and his cousin were stopped in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., while heading to a movie, and his cousin started “mouthing off.” 
 
 “I’m like, ‘This is not where we want to go. Keep quiet.’ I’m angry and upset. We negotiate the whole thing and we walk to our movie,” the attorney general said. “At the time that he stopped me, I was a federal prosecutor. I wasn’t a kid. I was a federal prosecutor. I worked at the United States Department of Justice. So I’ve confronted this myself.” 
 
 Of the events in Ferguson, Holder said there is a history to it, adding that the “history simmers beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson.” 
 
 The town has been rocked by tensions and unrest for nearly two weeks following the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot Aug. 9 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Holder, emphasizing the federal investigation into Brown’s death, said dialogue is not enough. 
 
 “We are starting here a good dialogue. But the reality is the dialogue is not enough. We need concrete action to change things in this country,” Holder said, pointing to the federal inquiry. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Pols on Ferguson: Sound of silence) 
 
 Holder arrived in the St. Louis suburb Wednesday morning where met with community leaders as well as FBI investigators and prosecutors from both the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. During his time in Ferguson, Holder did not hold a news conference. 
 
 Holder met with Brown’s parents later in the day; he previously called them last week to expressed his condolences. They met privately for 20 minutes and asked Holder about the federal investigation, to which Holder pledged it would be “fair and independent. Brown’s mother also viewed her son’s body at a local morgue for the first time since the shooting. 
 
 The attorney general also met with Missouri lawmakers including Gov. Jay Nixon, Reps. Emanuel Cleaver and Lacy Clay and Sens. Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt. 
 
 While meeting with local residents, Holder, who hoped his presence will have a calming influence, also promised change. 
 
 “We can make it better,” Holder, responding to a local mayor, said while meeting diners at a local restaurant. 
 
 The Holder’s meeting at the community college was closed to the press, but the Justice Department said Holder spoke to the group for 15 minutes before taking questions. He told the group he wished they were meeting under better circumstances and that he assigned the department’s “most experienced agents and prosecutors” to the investigation into Brown’s death. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Holder's big test: Ferguson) 
 
 It’s not the first time Holder has spoken about his experience in Georgetown and New Jersey. The attorney general spoke of the incidents last year at the NAACP convention in Orlando, Florida, where he also addressed the shooting of Trayvon Martin. 
 
 Holder “promised things were going to change,” said one student who attended the meeting, according to a pool report. 
 
 Holder also asked the group to work together to improve the relationship between protesters and local law enforcement. The meeting was arranged by the department’s Community Relations Service, an agency created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The service has held numerous meetings in Ferguson since protests began. 
 
 Afterward at a local restaurant, Holder met Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, telling the officer to “get some rest,” according to a pool report. 
 
 Johnson was asked whether Holder’s visit gave him reassurance regarding the local investigation. 
 
 “Holder, by being here, is a guarantee on that,” Johnson said, according to a pool report. 
 
 The attorney general was joined Wednesday by officials from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. 
 
 Later in the day at the local FBI headquarters, Holder spoke before an investigative briefing. 
 
 “Our investigation is different,” Holder said in a meeting room filled with local federal officials. “We’re looking for possible violations of federal civil rights statutes.” 
 
 Holder’s visit to Ferguson was announced earlier this week by President Barack Obama, who in his own remarks Monday, called for a reduction in tensions and for people “to seek some understanding.” 
 
 Ahead of his arrival, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an op-ed by Holder, who wrote that the Justice Department’s investigation into Brown’s death will be full, fair and independent. Holder added that it will be coordinated by the agency’s Civil Rights Division as well as the FBI and will bring some “measure of calm.” He said the additional autopsy he called for earlier this week was conducted on Monday. Holder called Brown’s parents last week to express his condolences. 
 
 After heated protests last week, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced the Missouri Highway Patrol would take over security in Ferguson, led by Johnson. However, by Monday, Nixon announced a state of emergency, bringing in the National Guard after earlier imposing a temporary curfew. But protests escalated yet again by Monday evening, with dozens of people arrested and a handful shot. 
 
 Regarding the handling of the local investigation, including the release of security footage of Brown prior to the shooting, Holder in a statement earlier this week said the “selective release of sensitive information that we have seen in this case so far is troubling to me.” ||||| ST. LOUIS (AP) — To reassure the people of Ferguson, Attorney General Eric Holder reached into his own past, recalling the times he had been stopped by police officers who seemed to target him because of his race. 
 
 Attorney General Eric Holder speaks with Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol at Drake's Place Restaurant, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. Holder arrived in Missouri on Wednesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters stand in the street as lightning flashes in the night sky in Ferguson, Mo. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. A grand jury has begun hearing evidence as it weighs possible charges against the Ferguson... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Mo. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. On Aug. 9, 2014, a white police officer fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters march to the Buzz Westfall Justice Center Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Clayton, Mo. A grand jury has begun hearing evidence as it weighs possible charges against the Ferguson police officer... (Associated Press) 
 
 Spiritual teacher Iyanla Vanzant, right, consoles Shirley Scale, a resident at the Canfield Apartments, at the shrine to Michael Brown where he was shot and killed on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Ferguson,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Attorney General Eric Holder, left, listens during his meeting at the U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis, Mo., Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. Sitting with clockwise from the far left, Richard Callahan, US... (Associated Press) 
 
 People stand in prayer after marching about a mile to the police station to protest the shooting of Michael Brown Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting in the middle of a street... (Associated Press) 
 
 Attorney General Eric Holder stops to shake hands with a patron at Drake's Place Restaurant, before his meeting with local community leaders, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014 in Ferguson, Mo. Holder arrived in... (Associated Press) 
 
 On a visit to the St. Louis suburb that has endured more than a week of unrest, Holder sought to build confidence in the investigation into the death of the black 18-year-old who was shot by a white officer. The trip also underscored the priority to the Obama administration of civil rights in general and the Michael Brown case in particular. 
 
 The attorney general said Wednesday that he understands why many black Americans do not trust police and that he has experienced many of the same frustrations. He described being stopped twice on the New Jersey Turnpike and accused of speeding. Police searched his car, looking through the trunk and under the seats. 
 
 "I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was and the impact it had on me," Holder said during a meeting with about 50 community leaders at the Florissant campus of St. Louis Community College. 
 
 Once while living in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, Holder was running to catch a movie with his cousin when a squad car rolled up and flashed its lights at the pair. The officer yelled, "Where are you going? Hold it!" Holder recalled. 
 
 His cousin "started mouthing off," and Holder urged him to be quiet. 
 
 "We negotiate the whole thing, and we walk to our movie. At the time that he stopped me, I was a federal prosecutor. I wasn't a kid," he said. 
 
 Holder also met with federal officials investigating Brown's Aug. 9 death and with Brown's parents. Before getting briefed at the local FBI headquarters, he said he hoped the visit would "have a calming influence" on the area. 
 
 In addition, the attorney general met briefly with Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who has been in charge of security in Ferguson for nearly a week. The National Guard is also helping to keep the peace. 
 
 Asked whether he had confidence in the local investigation of the police officer, Johnson said Holder's presence "is a guarantee on that." 
 
 In nearby Clayton, a grand jury began hearing evidence to determine whether the officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged in Brown's death. A spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch said there was no timeline for the process, but it could take weeks. 
 
 Outside the St. Louis County Justice Center, where the grand jury convened, two dozen protesters gathered in a circle for a prayer, chanted and held signs urging McCulloch to step aside. 
 
 McCulloch's deep family connections to police have been cited by some black leaders who question his ability to be impartial in the case. McCulloch's father, mother, brother, uncle and cousin all worked for the St. Louis Police Department, and his father was killed while responding to a call involving a black suspect. 
 
 The prosecutor, who is white, has insisted his background will have no bearing on the handling of the Brown case, which has touched off days of protests that have sometimes turned violent at night, when authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the streets. 
 
 On Wednesday, police said an officer had been suspended for pointing a semi-automatic assault rifle at demonstrators, then cursing and threatening to kill one of them. A protester captured the exchange on video Tuesday and posted it to YouTube and other websites. 
 
 Some protesters returned to the streets Wednesday evening but in diminished numbers. They marched around a single block as a thunderstorm filled the sky with lightning and dumped rain. Police still stood guard, but many wore regular uniforms rather than riot gear. 
 
 Johnson said there were six arrests, compared to 47 the previous night, and called it "a very good night." Johnson also said the visit by Holder let people know their voices had been heard. 
 
 The Justice Department has mounted an unusually swift and aggressive response to Brown's death, conducting an independent autopsy and sending dozens of FBI agents to Ferguson in search of witnesses to the shooting. 
 
 Brown's funeral is set for Monday in St. Louis. His uncle, the Rev. Charles Ewing, will deliver the eulogy. The Rev. Al Sharpton will also speak. Brown will be buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis County. 
 
 Holder said the Obama administration has been working to achieve change through the Justice Department's civil rights division. 
 
 "The same kid who got stopped on the New Jersey freeway is now the attorney general of the United States," he added. "This country is capable of change. But change doesn't happen by itself." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Jim Salter in St. Louis, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City and Nigel Duara in Ferguson contributed to this report. ||||| FERGUSON, Missouri — In the aftermath of yet another violent night in Ferguson, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday said he was lifting a previously implemented midnight curfew for residents. President Obama also weighed in on the situation from the White House, announcing Attorney General Eric Holder would travel to Ferguson on Wednesday to receive updates on the investigation and meet with community members. 
 
 
 
 “There is no excuse for excessive force by police,” Obama said, also urging the community to unite in an understanding instead of acting violently. 
 
 The announcements came as federal, state and local officials sought to quell the outrage sparked by the shooting death of 18-year old Michael Brown on August 9 at the hands of a local police officer. A two-night curfew seemed to make matters worse, prompting violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement. 
 
 Holder said in a statement he would meet with officials on the ground in Ferguson to discuss the investigation into the teen’s death. “I realize there is tremendous interest in the facts of the incident that led to Michael Brown’s death, but I ask for the public’s patience as we conduct this investigation,” Holder said. “The selective release of sensitive information that we have seen in this case so far is troubling to me. No matter how others pursue their own separate inquiries, the Justice Department is resolved to preserve the integrity of its investigation. This is a critical step in restoring trust between law enforcement and the community, not just in Ferguson, but beyond.” 
 
 Holder called for an end to violence on the streets of the St. Louis suburb, saying, “Those who have been peacefully demonstrating should join with law enforcement in condemning the actions of looters and others seeking to enflame tensions.” 
 
 The Missouri National Guard, called in Monday by Nixon, was tasked with overseeing the police command center throughout the night to allow law enforcement officials the ability to ensure peaceful protests. Additionally, the Missouri Highway Patrol planned to focus on not allowing vandals or any criminal elements to impact public safety, Capt. Ron Johnson said during an afternoon press conference. 
 
 Nixon’s decision came on the heels of declaring a state of emergency in the St. Louis suburb and calling in the Missouri National Guard, after a weekend of violence erupted in the wake of Brown’s death. 
 
 
 
 The governor signed the executive order, supported by the St. Louis County NAACP, following attacks on civilians and law enforcement that began on Saturday. 
 
 Gabe Crocker, head of the St. Louis County Police Association, a chapter of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, defended the heavily armed police presence, calling it “necessary when they’re throwing Molotov cocktails.” 
 
 He insisted that police tactics haven’t been of an “escalating nature” and added that, “nobody’s spoiling for a fight.” 
 
 Earlier Monday, an attorney for the family of Brown said he believes an independent autopsy report released on Sunday indicated that Brown had been surrendering to police before he was killed. 
 
 “It supports what the witnesses said about him trying to surrender to officers,” attorney Daryl Parks said during a morning news conference at the Grater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church here, where a pathologist discussed the nature of the gunshot wounds. “We believe that, given those kinds of facts, this officer should have been arrested.” 
 
 Close video Parks: Brown case has 'lack of transparency' Michael Brown family’s attorneys and medical professionals discuss the findings from Michael Brown’s autopsy. share tweet email save Embed 
 
 Veteran police officer Darren Wilson shot Brown at least six times on Aug. 9, pathologist Dr. Michael Baden said. According to Baden, there wasn’t evidence of a struggle on Brown’s body. Baden earlier told Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, that her son likely did not suffer, lawyer Benjamin Crump said. 
 
 Sean Parcells, a member of Baden’s team, said the two gunshot wounds to Brown’s head suggested he was lowering his head when struck, and said they were likely the last two shots fired. 
 
 Baden, who has reportedly performed over 20,000 medical examinations throughout his medical career, conducted the independent autopsy at the behest of the Brown family. 
 
 Baden said that in his long experience, releasing the autopsy results helps to calm the family and community more quickly. St. Louis County has conducted its own autopsy, but it has not yet been released, a decision that appears to have been made by the county prosecutor. The federal government is conducting a third autopsy. 
 
 Crump said the Brown family didn’t want to rely on the results of the county’s autopsy, which he said was conducted by “the same people who were responsible for executing their son in broad daylight.” 
 
 “What else do we need to give them to arrest the killer of my child?” Crump said during the Monday morning press conference, quoting Brown’s mother. 
 
 The community’s hunger for justice was on vivid display. An African-American woman asked whether Brown might have lived had it not been for the final two shots to his head, and Baden replied that he likely would have. “So why hasn’t Officer Wilson been arrested?” shouted the woman, who later gave her name as Shirley Davis, provoking a roar of support from the crowd. 
 
 Justice is “being fair, arresting this man and making him accountable for his actions,” McSpadden, Brown’s mother, told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Monday. 
 
 Sunday night, The New York Times reported on the independent autopsy commissioned by Brown’s family that found Wilson had shot Brown at least six times, including twice in the head. The autopsy was the first to be made public. Ferguson authorities have performed a separate autopsy that has yet to be made public, and the Justice Department announced on Sunday that Attorney General Eric Holder had ordered yet another autopsy to be conducted by a federal medical examiner. 
 
 The autopsy released Sunday, which was reviewed by the Times, found that one of the bullets had entered the top of Brown’s skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when he was struck by the fatal shot. In addition to the two shots to the head — the second of which went through Brown’s eye — the teen was struck four times in his right arm. All the shots entered the front of the teenager’s body, the autopsy found, which contradicts some witness accounts that suggested Brown had been shot from behind while fleeing police. However, the wounds may be consistent with witness claims that Brown had his hands up when he was fired on. 
 
 
 
 “It’s been very, very troubling,” Brown’s mother told ABC. “It confirms our worst fears that the witnesses were telling the truth — that our son was shot many times. What is worst is the head shot.” 
 
 Close video ‘Cycle of mistrust’ in Ferguson Ari Melber talks about the outrage over the release of a surveillance video in Ferguson, how it could impact legal proceedings and the recent increase in violence in the area Sunday night. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake then joins to talk about share tweet email save Embed 
 
 Crump sees the results as a validation of eyewitness claims. “This autopsy … seems to confirm our worst fears, that the witnesses were telling the truth,” he told msnbc. 
 
 There was reportedly no gunpowder on the body, which suggests that bullets weren’t fired at close range. But Baden didn’t have access to Brown’s clothes, which may have contained some gunpowder residue. 
 
 Residents first took to the streets peacefully on Sunday evening to seek justice for Brown and his family. But heavily-armed law enforcement officials met the protesters as they marched toward a police command center, firing on the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets. At least two individuals were injured during the shootings, but no police officers were hurt, said Johnson, the leader of the Missouri Highway Patrol that was put in charge of security by Nixon last week to help restore peace in the predominantly African-American suburb. 
 
 Related: Violence engulfs Ferguson with gunfire and tear gas 
 
 At the scene of last night’s violence and chaos, residents were trying to pick up the pieces early Monday morning. Along West Florissant Avenue, people swept up broken glass — smashed by looters Sunday — amid a still heavy police presence. Mostly there was a mood of calm and cooperation: one young black man offered a friendly wave to state troopers, who nodded back. Kids waited for buses to take them to school, just steps from where shots had rung out hours earlier. 
 
 But in a sign of the deep distrust between police and many ordinary black residents in the community, one employee of a beauty store expressed anger as she swept up the glass from what had been the store’s front door. She said she believed police had deliberately caused the destruction in order to paint the community as violent. 
 
 “They’re always trying to make blacks look bad,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “Trying to make it look like, they’re black and they’re angry.” 
 
 “It confirms our worst fears that the witnesses were telling the truth — that our son was shot many times. What is worst is the head shot.” Leslie Brown in an interview with “Good Morning America” 
 
 Nixon declared a state of emergency over the weekend, which prompted police to implement a midnight curfew. The Brown family has called for peaceful protesting in bringing justice for their son. The increasing number of people charged with stirring the violence are from outside the community and state, Nixon said. Last week, Ferguson residents, local leaders, and civil rights icons united in rally of support of Brown’s relatives. 
 
 Close video Heated clashes again in Ferguson Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the National Guard to the city to help “restore peace and order.” Way too Early’s Thomas Roberts reports. share tweet email save Embed 
 
 But the establishment of a curfew worried certain groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, which said such action harm citizens’ First Amendment rights. 
 
 “It subjects an entire community to imprisonment in their homes — a lock down on the residents of Ferguson who have done no wrong and seek nothing more than justice,” the group wrote in a statement. “This unprecedented action cannot be divorced from the history of law enforcement officials treating communities of color as the problem rather than an indispensable part of the solution.” 
 
 Human rights groups have gathered in Ferguson. Amnesty International sent a 13-person human rights delegation to Ferguson, resources the organization has never set up domestically, until now, according to BuzzFeed. 
 
 Follow msnbc reporters on the ground in Ferguson 
 
 The teenager’s family delayed his funeral arrangements to allow for the autopsy they commissioned.
– In his visit to Ferguson, Mo., yesterday, Eric Holder told residents that he understands their frustration about police. "I am the attorney general of the United States," he said. "But I am also a black man,” Holder recounted being stopped by police on a Washington street while he and his cousin ran to catch a movie, reports Politico. "I was a federal prosecutor," he said. "I wasn't a kid." He also recalled being pulled over twice in New Jersey and accused of speeding as cops searched his car, reports Fox News. "I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was," he told the crowd, and later in the day said, "We can make it better." While he praised the "good dialogue" going on about race relations, he added that "dialogue is not enough. We need concrete action to change things in this country." Holder also met with Michael Brown's parents for about 20 minutes and promised a "fair and independent" investigation. Meanwhile, Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson said last night was "a very good night" in Ferguson, with just six arrests, reports the AP.