Ferguson Missouri Police Fire Tear Gas at Crowd Protesting Police Shooting Death of Teen, Michael Brown; Governor Declares Emergency and Imposes Curfew

Tear gas fills Ferguson's streets again

August 13, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ferguson-Florissant district pushes back the start of school
• "We understand the anger ... that people want answers," police chief says
• Officials decline to identify officer who shot the teen, citing safety concerns
• Family's attorney: Police should be transparent, "not try to sweep it under the rug".

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson is surrounded by his officers as he leaves a news conference on Friday.

CNN - A new witness in the police shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, told CNN that Brown and the police officer tussled at the police car window, then the officer shot the teen multiple times, as Brown backed away.

"What I saw was when Michael and the cop were wrestling through the window," Tiffany Mitchell told CNN's Don Lemon. 

A shot was fired while Brown was out the window. He got free, and the officer got out of the vehicle, followed Brown and shot him, she said.

He raised his hands, and the officer kept firing, she said.

Police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesters late Wednesday for another night, as the group gathered to protest Brown's deadly shooting.

Officers in riot gear then marched toward the protesters near a burned out gas station, which has become the gathering point for demonstrations.

Police announced that they no longer considered the protest peaceful, before they fired the canisters, CNN producer Yon Pomrenze said. People fled in all directions, as the stinging clouds wafted by them.

A separate small group of over a dozen people gathered outside Ferguson's police station holding up signs and chanting protests for a fifth day.

Officer not named

Police have said Brown died in a dangerous struggle after trying to grab the officer's weapon, but witnesses say it seemed a brazen act of aggression by the officer on Saturday, and that Brown was unarmed and not threatening.

On Wednesday, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson told CNN that the officer had been hit and suffered swelling on the side of his face. He was taken to a hospital and released the same day, Jackson said.

Five days have passed since Brown's killing, and the public still does not know the name of the person who pulled the trigger.

There have been cries of a cover-up.

"That doesn't give the community confidence. That doesn't make it transparent," attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters. "And remember, we've got a long way to go before this community starts to believe that the police are going to give them all the answers and not try to sweep it under the rug."

Crump was one of the attorneys who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, the teenager who was killed in a 2012 altercation with Florida man George Zimmerman.

But Mayor James W. Knowles said police have received death threats against the officer and his family. They want to prevent further violence, he said.

Hackers have gone after his personal information and worked people up against members of government and the police, he said.

Trouble at night 

Police have asked protesters to restrict their gatherings to daylight hours, after violence has broken out repeatedly after nightfall. Protests during the day have been peaceful.

Protests on Sunday and Monday ended with clashes with police and looting . Police have made 47 arrests after Brown's shooting, KMOV reported.

"We understand the anger; we understand that people want answers. We understand that we've got a problem, but we're just asking people to be peaceful," Jackson said.

The Ferguson-Florissant School District announced that it was pushing back the start of classes this year. School had been scheduled to resume Thursday.

Civil rights

Federal civil rights investigators and the FBI carry out their own inquiry into the controversial case. In the town of 21,000, there's a history of distrust between the predominantly black community and the largely white police force.

"Race relations is a top priority right now and, as I said, I'm working with the Department of Justice to improve that," Jackson told reporters Wednesday.

Only three of the city's 53 officers are African-American, and Jackson said he is working to change that.

Dorian Johnson, who said he saw the shooting, told CNN on Tuesday that the officer who opened fire is white.

Brown wanted to pursue an education and was keen on staying out of trouble, his mother said. He was to start classes at a local technical college this semester.

Gov declares emergency, imposes curfew in Ferguson

August 16, 2014

AP - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew Saturday in the St. Louis suburb where a black teenager was shot to death by a white police officer a week ago.

Nixon said that though many protesters were making themselves heard peacefully, the state would not allow a handful of looters to endanger the community. The curfew will run from midnight to 5 a.m.

Tensions in Ferguson flared late Friday after police released the name of the officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown and documents alleging Brown robbed a store before he died.

Nixon also said the U.S. Department of Justice is beefing up its investigation of the shooting.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who is in charge of security in Ferguson, said there were 40 FBI agents going door-to-door talking to people who might have seen or have information about the shooting.

Nixon and Johnson spoke at a church in Ferguson, where they were interrupted repeatedly by people demanding justice and objecting to the curfew.

Johnson assured those in attendance that police would communicate with protesters and give them ample opportunity to observe the curfew.

"You saw people sitting in the street and they had the chance to get up," he said. "And that's how it's going to continue."

Brown's death had already ignited several days of clashes with furious protesters. Tensions eased Thursday after Nixon turned oversight of the protests over to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Gone were the police in riot gear and armored vehicles, replaced by the new patrol commander who personally walked through the streets with demonstrators. But Friday night marked a resurgence of unrest.

Local officers faced strong criticism earlier in the week for their use of tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters. Johnson said one tear gas canister was deployed Friday night after the group of rioters became unruly.

The officer who killed Brown was identified as 28-year-old Darren Wilson, a six-year police veteran who had no previous complaints filed against him.

The Ferguson Police Department has refused to say anything about Wilson's whereabouts, and Associated Press reporters were unable to contact him at any addresses or phone numbers listed under that name in the St. Louis area.

Wilson has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said it could be weeks before the investigation wraps up.

St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley asked Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster on Friday to take over the case, saying he did not believe McCulloch could be objective. Koster said Missouri law does not allow it unless McCulloch opts out, and McCulloch spokesman Ed Magee said the prosecutor has no plans to surrender the case.

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Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson earned police honor before shooting