There were no apparent signs of conflict. A demonstration in the same location a night earlier was interrupted by gunfire.
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Dozens of protesters were also arrested after blocking rush-hour traffic on Interstate 70 a few kilometres from Ferguson, according to a Reuters witness.
Officials issued a state of emergency for Ferguson on Monday, amid plans for a new round of rallies. “A lot has changed with them, like a lot of us have been awakened in a way we couldn’t even have imagined”, said St. Louis resident Tiffany Shawn.
“In light of last night’s violence and unrest in the City of Ferguson, and the potential for harm to persons and property, I am exercising my authority as county executive to issue a state of emergency, effective immediately”.
The violence, according to Belmar, erupted Sunday when two groups of agitators apparently began shooting at each other, disrupting what had been peaceful demonstrations.
Protesters yell at a police line shortly before shots were fired in a police officer-involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri on August. 9, 2015.
On Monday, the father of Tyrone Harris, the 18-year-old suspect who was shot called the police version of events “a bunch of lies”. All 10 are felonies. Police have described his condition as critical.
The officers fired back at him and then pursued him on foot when he ran.
The four officers have been placed on administrative leave.
Tyrone Harris Sr. said his son and namesake attended the same high school as Brown, whom the younger Harris considered a good friend.
Ferguson Democratic Committeewoman Patricia Bynes says she’s disappointed at that development. They marched up and down West Florissant Avenue, the thoroughfare that was the site of protests and rioting after Brown was fatally shot last year in a confrontation with a Ferguson police officer.
One officer was treated for cuts after a rock was thrown at his face, and two officers were pepper-sprayed by protesters, county police said. Police arrested more than 20 people in the city’s streets Monday night; no violence or damage was reported.
A crowd of about 300 people had gathered earlier to mark the anniversary, during which they observed four and a half minutes of silence and released two white doves.
The shooting of a suspect by plainclothes officers in Ferguson is drawing criticism from protest leaders. Some protest groups said police were too quick to go into riot mode.
Kayla Reed of the Organization for Black Struggle says the force shown by police was “excessive and antagonistic”.
“People in law enforcement, they know who comes out and protests … they know who the protesters are”. They were not wearing body cameras, Mr Belmar said. The man fired again on the officers when he became trapped in a fenced-in area, the Belmar said, and all four officers fired back.
Gina Gowey, of Ferguson, Mo., protests on West Florissant Ave.,…
Police had been watching Harris during the protest out of concern that he was armed, the chief said. The man fled, but was wounded after reportedly pulling his gun on police in an unmarked SUV.
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One protester told ABC 17 News after a year of participating in protests. she felt an arrest was only a small sacrifice for the cause of pushing for reforms in policing. The man was taken to a hospital, where Belmar said he was in surgery early Monday morning. The paper reported that more arrests were made after midnight Tuesday. The teens were both hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
