Mourner says she’s praying for peace

ST. LOUIS (AP) — One of the mourners at today’s funeral for Michael Brown says she went there to “pray for the family and pray for peace.” Angela Pierce, a black woman, says she hopes the funeral turns a page and eases tensions. But most important, she says, she hopes it provides healing for Brown’s family.

As people filed into a church sanctuary in St. Louis, poster-sized photos of Brown were on display near the casket, along with another photo of him as a small child.

Brown’s father has asked for a break in the protests that followed the fatal shooting of the black 18-year-old by a white police officer. This morning, it appeared that his request was being honored. At the Ferguson Police Department, where a small but steady group of protesters has stood vigil for two weeks, a handmade sign announced a “break for funeral.”

Among those attending the funeral was Will Acklin, a black man from Little Rock, Arkansas. He says that as a child, he was “pushed by police, mistreated by police, cursed by police” — even though he was a “good kid.” He says he felt “compelled” to attend today’s funeral and to show his respects.

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APPHOTO MOSTP105: Lesley McSpadden is comforted during the funeral services for her son Michael Brown on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. Hundreds of people gathered to say goodbye to Brown, who was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer on Aug. 9. The more than two weeks since Michael Brown’s death have been marked by nightly protests, some violent and chaotic, although tensions have eased in recent days. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post Dispatch, Robert Cohen, Pool) (18 Aug 2014)

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