Ball-Bey was apparently found fleeing a home for which officers had a search warrant on Wednesday.
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The man who was fatally shot by police officers Wednesday died from a single gunshot wound to the back, a preliminary autopsy has confirmed.
In angry clashes Wednesday night, officers in riot gear fired tear gas and more protests followed on Thursday night.
The St Louis Post-Dispatch said that the 18-year-old had pointed a gun at two officers who were serving a search warrant.
Police Chief Sam Dotson said the location of the wound does not prove or disprove if Ball-Bey pointed a gun at officers, according to the St. Louis Dispatch.
Christmas denies that Ball-Bey was armed and said interviews his firm conducted with witnesses in the area at the time of the shooting also contradict the police account.
Some within the crowd of almost 150 protesters hurled obscene gestures and expletives at investigators, while questioning if police use of deadly force was necessary, reports USA Today.
Dotson said the officers left the area but returned when a auto was set on fire on Walton just south of Page.
The police chief and mayor said protesters should have their voices heard, but they differentiated between those who gather to protest and others who create mischief.
In a letter from attorneys Eric Bland and Robert Richter addressed to the US Justice Department, the lawyers assert that Morton “had additional criminal information regarding Adam Covington”, the son of Seneca police chief John Covington and a former reserve officer for the Seneca police. Dotson is urging that person to come forward so they can put together a better picture of what happened on Wednesday morning. Dotson said police had discovered three stolen guns during investigations after the shooting. As police removed their yellow tape that cordoned off the scene, dozens of people converged on the home’s front yard, many chanting insults and gesturing obscenely at officers. Brown’s death previous year helped spur a nationwide movement against what protesters say is a pattern of police violence against minorities.
Referring to the two officers at the scene, he said that he does not know exactly where they were standing yet and “I won’t know until I get their statements”.
An attorney for Ball-Bey’s family, Jermaine Wooten, contends the teen didn’t have a gun, citing what he says were accounts from witnesses. Wooten, who represented Myers’ family in that case, argued that Myers never shot at the officer, or even had a gun. In April, Dotson cited concerns over cost and said there were no immediate plans to begin outfitting his officers with the devices.
A 93-year-old member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a black aviation unit from World War Two, was robbed and carjacked in the neighborhood on Sunday.
“It is important that we document the things that are happening”, Dotson said on Thursday.
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Some protesters questioned the police claim that the suspect was armed. “Certainly the good people in this neighborhood should not be plagued by the violence”. There were 159 homicides in all of 2014 and 120 the year before that.
