Benton Harbor - The smell of burnt wood permeated the air and Benton Harbor resident Lubber Williams II stood at Pavone and Empire streets where a fatal police chase became the beginning of a two-day riot.

"I got to live in this madness," Lubber Williams said. "They are putting too much pressure on brothers. It's overkill."

Lubber Williams, a black man, says he is angered by the way police handled the chase of Benton Harbor resident Terrance Shurn, 28, who was killed when his motorcycle crashed into an abandoned building, which was leveled shortly after the accident to keep rioters from reigniting the structure's remains. A gapping hole surrounded by yellow police tape is all that is left.

His anger was shared by hundreds of residents who swarmed the streets the nights of June 16-17, burning 21 homes, attacking police officers, residents and vehicles and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

Benton Harbor is a small town with decaying Victorian architecture, littered with abandoned buildings and overgrown lawns. Much of the rioting took place along Empire Street, where deserted and boarded-up buildings were burned to smoldering ashes. At Roy's Party Shop, a business about 100 yards from the crash site, about eight local residents filed in at 10 a.m. on Thursday to purchase beer, pints of liquor and discuss the riot.

Residents say racial tensions are to blame for the riot. Those involved believe the death of Shurn, a black man, was caused by a white police officer's car bumping his motorcycle.

But Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Risko, a white man, says the police cruiser bumping into the motorcycle was impossible because the bike was traveling too fast to be hit.

The officers chasing Shurn were from a neighboring city, Benton Township. Benton Harbor police say the chase lasted about one minute.

State and community police vowed to protect the city and prevent similar occurrences every night following the June 16-17 riots.

"We will be prepared to respect and protect the people of this city every day" said Samuel Harris on Thursday, the Benton Harbor police chief who is black.

Each night, hundreds of officers from seven counties, 30 police cruisers, including 2 armored vehicles, circled city blocks where riots occurred earlier in the week. Similar disturbances did not continue through the week and police officials say the streets have been relatively calm since Wednesday.

"It's been pretty quiet," said Lt. Rolland Labaumbard on Wednesday, a Berrien County police officer who is white. "Bad weather has affected the turn out."

It rained most of the night Wednesday, which police said might have contributed to the end of the riots.

Standing near Roy's Party Shop, Benton Harbor resident John Whitfield watched construction crews clean up burned houses on Thursday afternoon. He said the city had more anger in it than the weather could suppress.

"The weather has nothing to do with what is going on in this neighborhood," said Whitfield, a black man. "It better be fireballs of hell coming down to stop this town. Anything can happen at anytime. They should be out here right now."

Quatila Robertson, a Benton Harbor resident, walked down Empire Avenue on Thursday morning and shook her head, examining the burned remains of two abandoned buildings surrounded by crime scene tape. Robertson said local police had a history of mistreating Benton Harbor residents and she sympathized with the way the rioters reacted.

"They are just expressing their emotions," said Robertson, who is black. "They know no justice is going to be served and this is their justice."

Benton Harbor resident Antonio Williams said media attention was something the city needs because of the economically depressed situation.

"We're just basically over here, swarming around," said Antonio Williams, a black man who participated in the riots. "Our daily routine is ride around, drinking, smoking, getting high, having fun - we ain't got nothing else to do. We can't get no jobs, they won't hire you if you're from Benton Harbor."

The average unemployment rate last year in Benton Harbor was about 25 percent. The town is a 12,000-person community on Lake Michigan, about 100 miles northeast of Chicago. The 92-percent black town sits across the river from St. Joseph, an 8,800-person city, which is 90 percent white. St. Joseph's average unemployment rate was 2 percent last year.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm spoke in Benton Harbor on Thursday after touring the city's post-riot streets. But she said she didn't want to visit the area under such circumstances.

"The state must wrap its arms around this community," Granholm said at a press conference. "It should never have to take violence to have elected officials pay attention, but we are paying attention and we are moving forward."

Benton Harbor resident Bob Finch complained local police are not properly trained on how to interact with the community.

"They should give Benton Harbor police state police training," said Finch, who is black. "State police treat you with respect. You got to learn how to arrest a sucker without going through a bunch of shit. You mistreat people all the time and a little spark is going to happen."

Harris said he would not condemn the Benton Township Police Department, and he stood behind their split-second decision-making.

Investigation into the incident is underway by the Michigan State Police.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition leader who visited Benton Harbor on Saturday, said he wanted a federal investigation of the police community by the Department of Justice.

Jackson said Rainbow/PUSH, an organization he founded, is fighting for social change and planning to open a chapter in Benton Harbor.

The presence of Jackson is something Benton Harbor does not need and the problems were rooted in more than racial tension, Benton Harbor police Chief Harris said.

"All the problems that are here were here last week, the week before and last year," Harris said. "All of this could not be over this one incident. Why would we destroy our own city?"

Milton Taylor, a black Benton Harbor resident, says Benton Harbor had no leaders to help the community, and they were treated unfairly compared to other surrounding communities.

"We hear about everything else on the news, about communities getting this and that, Benton Harbor don't get nothing," said Taylor, who also participated in last week's riots.

Walking through the pouring rain at on the streets of Benton Harbor and crying at 1 a.m. on Thursday, Benton Harbor resident Jodaen Reed was looking for her 23-year-old son who had been participating in the riot the night before.

She said she was worried about her son, the youth of Benton Harbor and what their future would be.

"He don't understand the value of what is going on here," Reed said. "It's not going to work. You can't save anything. I am scared to death."

Joseph Montes can be reached at montesjo@msu.edu. Sarah Frank can be reached at franksa2@msu.edu.