Peaceful protests and vigils held over the weekend to commemorate the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer last year, had given way ealier in the week to multiple shootings and fears about a resurgence of the chaos that erupted in suburban St. Louis after Brown’s death. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree assault on law enforcement, five counts of armed criminal action and one count of discharging a firearm at a motor vehicle. Bond for Harris, who is black, was set at $250,000. After the crowd’s initial moments of panic, a man wearing a white t-shirt can be seen standing up and lunging toward the parking lot holding what appears to be a pistol.
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Tyrone Harris Sr said two girls who were with his son told him the 18-year-old was unarmed.
The shooting prompted Steve Stenger, the St. Louis County executive, to declare a state of emergency and to place Jon Belmar, the county’s police chief, in control of police operations related to protests in Ferguson.
Demonstrators met near Chicago police headquarters Tuesday in solidarity with protesters in Ferguson, Mo., where demonstrations marking the death of Michael Brown have continued for the past few days.
Oath Keepers previously showed up in Ferguson in November after a grand jury declined to indict former Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s death, saying they stationed themselves along several downtown rooftops to protect businesses from rioting and looters.
St. Louis County declared a state of emergency on Monday due to unrest over Ferguson, giving police greater authority to maintain peace and security. Protesters who were arrested were suspected of throwing frozen water bottles and rocks at police and other offenses, according to the St. Louis County Police Department.
Also on Tuesday, police said the protests a day earlier that marked the Brown shooting anniversary led to the arrests of more than 100 people. When they didn’t comply, officers advanced and took several people into custody.
McGuire added that the police were not aware of any footage showing Harris firing the weapon or of the officer involved.
Harris allegedly opened fire on an unmarked police van and a gun battle with police ensued.
The far-right anti-government activist group is largely comprised of past and present members of the military, first-responders and police officers.
“After a year of protest and conversation around police accountability, having plainclothes officers without body cameras and proper identification in the protest setting leaves us with only the officer’s account of the incident, which is clearly problematic”, said Kayla Reed, a field organizer with the Organization for Black Struggle, in a statement on Monday.
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Ferguson resident Roberta Lynch, 51, one of the demonstrators on Monday evening, said relations between the police and the community had improved little over the past year. After officers threw down stop sticks and arrested him, he reportedly admitted to stealing the auto as well as a 9 mm gun.
