Protests In St. Louis Suburb Again Turn Ugly

Police used tear gas and smoke bombs to repel crowds they say threw Molotov cocktails during another violent night on the streets of a St. Louis suburb in the wake of the weekend shooting of the unarmed 18-year old Michael Brown.

Thursday, August 14th 2014, 8:38 am

By: News 9


Police used tear gas and smoke bombs to repel crowds they say threw Molotov cocktails during another violent night on the streets of a St. Louis suburb in the wake of the weekend shooting of the unarmed 18-year old Michael Brown.

Hours earlier, the police chief had said race relations were the top priority in the town, where a white police officer fatally shot the black teen. Authorities have vowed to reach across the racial, economic and generational divide in a community in search of answers.

Activists were attempting to organize vigils nationwide for victims of police brutality, to begin at 7 p.m. EDT, with a moment of silence 20 minutes later.

In the streets of Ferguson, the polite dialogue heard at community forums and news conferences was nowhere to be found.

Instead, officers from multiple departments in riot gear and in military equipment have clashed nightly with protesters, who chant, "Hands up, don't shoot."

Wednesday saw more tense confrontations and further volleys of tear gas from police -- this time paired with smoke bombs in response to what authorities said were flaming projectiles and other objects lobbed from the crowd. Protesters faced heavily armed police who at times trained weapons on them from armored trucks.

Two reporters said they were detained by police for not clearing out quickly enough from a McDonald's where they were working, near the protests but away from the more volatile areas. The two, who work for The Washington Post and The Huffington Post, were released without any charges. Both say they were assaulted but not seriously hurt.

St. Louis County Police say 16 people were arrested during the latest round of protests, and one officer was injured, reports CBS St. Louis station KMOV-TV.The station says St. Louis Alderman Antonio French, who has been chronicling the demonstrations on social media, was among those arrested. There was no initial word on charges against any of the 16.

Residents in Ferguson have complained about what they called a heavy-handed police presence that began with the use of dogs for crowd control soon after Brown's shooting -- a tactic that for some invoked the specter of civil rights protests a half-century ago. The county police force took over leading both the investigation of Brown's shooting and the subsequent attempts to keep the peace at the smaller city's request.

County Police Chief Jon Belmar, though, said his officers have responded with "an incredible amount of restraint," as they've been the targets of rocks, bottles and gunshots, with two dozen patrol vehicles being destroyed.

"It's pretty amazing how impressed I am and inspired by these officers," he said. "This is a very difficult circumstance."

Police had also asked earlier that people assemble in "an organized and respectful" manner and disperse before evening.

At the scene, KMOV photographer Scott Thomas said police "exercised all manner of restraint. They received verbal abuse all day long, and it wasn't until things were actually thrown at them that they took action with tear gas and advanced. ... This situation only occurred when bottles or rocks were thrown at police, and that is when they used tear gas.

" ... It seemed today like things were calming down, then we had this ... flare-up. And it was once again caused by a small percentage of individuals within the protest," Thomas said.

"It's sad because this is not the intent of any of this here," said a demonstrator.

The city and county are also under criticism for refusing to release the name of the officer involved in Brown's shooting, citing threats against that officer and others.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson called improving race relations "the top priority right now" but also said he won't be pressured into publicly identifying the officer - despite, he said, mounting demands from clergy, computer hackers and protesters.

"We have the right to know, and the family has the right to know who murdered their son," said Sahari Gutierrez, a 27-year-old Ferguson legal assistant.

Jackson said he also welcomes Justice Department training on racial relations in the suburb, where two-thirds of the 21,000 residents are black while all but three of the police force's 53 officers are white.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon cited the "worsening situation" in Ferguson in saying he would be in the area Thursday. He asked community members to be patient and calm while the investigation proceeds and urged law enforcement agencies to "keep the peace and respect the rights of residents and the press."

Jackson said the investigation remains weeks away from completion.

Schools will be closed in Ferguson until at least Monday, the local district said.

Police have said Brown was shot after an officer encountered him and another man on the street. They say one of the men pushed the officer into his squad car, then physically assaulted him in the vehicle and struggled with the officer over the officer's weapon. At least one shot was fired inside the car.

The struggle then spilled onto the street, where Brown was shot multiple times. In their initial news conference about the shooting, police didn't specify whether Brown was the person who scuffled with the officer in the car and have refused to clarify their account.

Jackson said Wednesday that the officer involved sustained swelling facial injuries.

Dorian Johnson, who says he was with Brown when the shooting happened, has told a much different story. He has told media outlets that the officer ordered them out of the street, then tried to open his door so close to the men that it "ricocheted" back, apparently upsetting the officer.

Johnson says the officer grabbed his friend's neck, then tried to pull him into the car before brandishing his weapon and firing. He says Brown started to run and the officer pursued him, firing multiple times. Johnson and another witness both say Brown was on the street with his hands raised when the officer fired at him repeatedly.

Among the protesters critical of the police response has been state Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadal, a Democrat from nearby University City

"I just want to know if I'm going to be gassed again, like I was on Monday night?" she asked Jackson at a press conference. "And I was peaceful. And I'm your state senator."

"I hope not," he replied.

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