The county executive decried the gunfire that marred an otherwise peaceful weekend of protesting around the first anniversary of the 2014 shooting of African-American teen Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. But in a separate report, the Justice Department cited racial bias and profiling in policing as well as a profit-driven municipal court system that often targeted black residents, who make up about two-thirds of Ferguson’s populace. An AP reporter later saw a grief-stricken woman screaming, “Why did they do it?” and a man nearby said, “They killed my brother”.
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Police said a man unleashed a “remarkable amount of gunfire” against officers late Sunday by using an allegedly stolen handgun.
Gina Gowey, of Ferguson, Mo., protests on West Florissant Ave.,… Protesters were out there trying to effect change.
A police helicopter appeared overhead, shining a spotlight down on the street.
Harris’ family said he was a friend and classmate of Michael Brown.
When the man again fired, all four officers fired back. A spokesman for the department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Scott Olson/Getty Images West clears debris from the sidewalk plaque honoring 18-year-old Brown in Ferguson.
Sunday night’s shooting occurred after a gun battle between rival groups in the center of the Ferguson protests.
Before the gunfire, protesters were blocking traffic and confronting police.
The officers were not wearing body cameras at the time of the incident, police said. One person threw a glass bottle at officers but missed. Others questioned why plainclothes officers were part of the patrol.
Demonstrators in Ferguson on Sunday.
People protest on West Florissant Ave., Sunday, August 9, 2015, in… It is unknown if anything was taken from the store. Police were on the scene.
So far, those protests have been peaceful, but there have been several arrests.
On a day of civil disobedience called by activists in Missouri on Monday, several people were arrested after jumping barricades at a courthouse in St. Louis, news video reports showed. He had thanked supporters before the march for not allowing what happened to his son to be “swept under the carpet”.
Harris’ father, Tyrone Harris Sr., says two girls who were with his son told him he was unarmed and “running for his life” when he was shot. At least one individual was critically injured from the shootings. All of it is to draw attention to the movement, “Black Lives Matter“.
A march to mark the anniversary of the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown has begun in Ferguson, Missouri.
He said his son was in “the wrong place at the wrong time”.
Chief Jon Belmar said at a news conference that officers had been tracking Harris, who they believed was armed, around 11.15pm on Sunday. He had thanked supporters before the march for not allowing his son’s death to be “swept under the carpet”.
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One officer was treated for a laceration after taking a brick to the face, Belmar said. Two doves were released at the end.
