The tense evening followed dozens of arrests earlier outside the federal courthouse in nearby St. Louis and at an afternoon demonstration on a local highway. Authorities declared a state of emergency, a day after the one-year anniversary of the death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in a struggle with a Ferguson officer.
Police arrested 57 people at the courthouse, 64 protesters who briefly blocked I-70 and 23 more people on Monday night near the scene of Brown's death, according to the St. Louis County Police Department. One officer took a chunk of concrete to his chest, but his protective vest prevented any injuries. There were no reports of injuries, gun shots or property damage.

But police say protesters threw frozen water bottles, empty bottles and rocks at officers after 9 p.m. in the second consecutive night of clashes. Gunfire rang out on W. Florissant Ave. on Sunday night and police critically wounded a man who allegedly opened fire on four plainclothes detectives.
JEFF ROBERSON/AP
St. Louis County Police arrest a man along W. Florrisant Ave. on Monday night. The county police, who are empowered by the state of the emergency to oversee Ferguson's policing, made at least nine arrests.
“They’re not going to take the street tonight,” said St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar. “That’s not going to happen.”
The demonstrators retreated to the sidewalks at around 11 p.m. after Belmar spoke with protest leaders. Videos from the scene show several of the leaders telling the crowd to move back.
Officers had commanded the crowd out of the roadway with bullhorns. Several people were arrested for “resisting/interfering,” county police said on Twitter.
JEFF ROBERSON/AP
County police said they arrested protesters who wouldn't disperse from the roadway. The demonstrators later moved back to the sidewalks, police say.
“Safety, our top priority, is now compromised,” the department Tweeted. “This is no longer a peaceful protest. Participants are now unlawfully assembled.”
No comments:
Post a Comment