Looting, confrontation mar Fergusons streets once more Ferguson, Missouri (CNN) -- Armored vehicles and law enforcement officers in riot gear with military style rifles returned to the streets of Ferguson early Saturday, while a handful of looters robbed four stores. The after-dark confrontation began after more than two dozen protesters closed off a section of street near a convenience store, the Ferguson Market and Liquor store, that has become part of the case surrounding Michael Brown, the black teen who was killed by police gunfire one week ago. Protests in Ferguson, Missouri Protests in Ferguson, Missouri It was one of the stores that was looted. A SWAT team lined up across from the protesters commanding them via bullhorn to unblock the street and take to sidewalks, or to go home. Security officers warned that disobeying the law would be met with arrest. Friend of Darren Wilson: He was scared Family attorney: Store video irrelevant Chief: Officer maybe saw stolen cigars Police name cop who shot Michael Brown Bottles flew back in their direction and mayhem broke out. Three Molotov cocktails smashed onto the roof of a Dominos Pizza. Firemen put it out, as it burned a hole in the roof. Minutes later, the streets grew calm again, and about a dozen people lined up to block the entrance to the convenience store, putting their hands in the air. They said they had come to fend off looters. Officers went back to their ready positions. Protesters numbers dwindled, while some remaining defied the order to stay out of the street. A night earlier, quiet had returned to the Missouri town after days of nightly ruckus, paired with tear gas from militarily outfitted officers. On Thursday, new security arrangements lead by Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson seemed to calm tensions. He has bonded with the community, becoming the figurehead of softer crowd policing. On the other side of the country, in Oakland, California, protests on Browns behalf late Friday were met with police in riot gear and pepper spray. Protesters hindered traffic, and at least one protester was seen spraying graffiti. Peaceful protesters held up signs and raised their hands crying what has become the iconic protest chant: Hands up! Dont shoot! 5 things to know about Michael Browns shooting Saturday protests planned On Saturday, protesters plan to commemorate the moment Brown died with a vigil across from the Ferguson police station. Police chief: I had to release tape At noon, near the hour that Officer Darren Wilson shot Brown, 18, in the Missouri town, protesters will silently raise their hands into the air. Its what Brown did before he died, witnesses say, while Wilson kept firing on him. Two witnesses say Wilson fired on Brown multiple times, as he tried to break from Wilson. Police say Brown had accosted Wilson in his patrol vehicle and groped for his gun. The same two witnesses have contradicted that claim. One side of Wilsons face was swollen from the confrontation, police said. No one has disputed witness accounts that Brown was unarmed when he died. Are these Michael Browns final moments? Another rally is planned for 3:00 p.m. central, a rally will kick off near St. Louis hallmark symbol, the Gateway Arch, with members of Browns family expected to attend. Police announcement controversy Browns family and protesters in Ferguson demanded, for nearly a week, to hear the name of the officer, who pulled the trigger. Ferguson police delayed the release, citing safety concerns and saying that police had received death threats. On Friday they conceded. But their announcement drew disappointed moans and criticism, because it was coupled with a flurry of details and surveillance camera video footage that implicated Brown in a theft at the Ferguson convenience store, before the time he was shot. The video shows a tall, young, black man coarsely shoving a store clerk, who tried to stop him, out of the way then intimidating him before walking out of the store holding something. Documents fingered him as the primary suspect, who walked off with a box of cigars valued at $48.99. They also named a key witness in his shooting case, Dorian Johnson, as the second suspect in the theft. Read the police documents Johnson committed no crime But Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson later said Johnson neither committed a crime, nor was he complicit. Johnson said he was with Brown at the time of the shooting and that Wilson shot Brown without provocation. We wasnt committing any crime, bringing no harm to nobody, but my friend was murdered in cold blood, he told CNN affiliate KMOV. Hours after the material was made public, Chief Jackson told reporters that the robbery wasnt the reason Wilson stopped Brown. It was because he was walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic. Jackson expressed every confidence in Wilson, 28, who has been a police officer for six years, four of those with Fergusons force. He (is) a gentleman ... a quiet officer, Jackson said. The shooting and its aftermath are devastating, its absolutely devastating to Wilson. Jackson has said that evidence and testimony in the shooting will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide on whether or not Wilson should be tried. Complete coverage of the Ferguson shooting Distraction and hints The larger man in the video appears to be Brown, said family lawyer Benjamin Crump. But Browns family wasnt informed of the robbery or store surveillance video ahead of time, he said. And its immaterial, said Eric Davis, who is related to Brown. Its a diversion, and its an attempt to smear Michaels character, he said. It (should be) more about what happened on Canfield Drive, where Michael was executed. Capt. Johnson was also sour on the information release. The robbery and shooting of Brown are separate issues, he said. I told (Chief Jackson) I think both of those being released today was not needed and was not the way that we needed to go, he said. The priority should be to take care of the shooting, Brown and his family first. Earlier, state highway patrolman Johnson had vented about how Ferguson city police handled information. CNN affiliate KSDK captured it on camera. Not upfront enough, was Johnsons critique. I think if were going to give answers, we need to not give hints, Johnson said. We need to say it. Police Chief Jackson said he distributed the store videotape because the press asked for it and he couldnt perpetually hold it back. He thought important to release at the same time he released Wilsons name. A national discussion Browns relative Davis expected the new information released by police to raise anger instead of quell it. It just fueled the distrust that was already out there for the Ferguson police department, he said. Yet there were also some who said the robbery is not necessarily irrelevant to what happened next. A robbery doesnt justify shooting Mike Brown, but it definitely changes your perspective on his mindset at the time of police encounter, read one Twitter post from @OneTermTooMany. The full, complicated story has stirred an intense, nationwide discussion on race in the United States, and on the shooting itself as well as the response to demonstrators afterward. Opinion: How many unarmed people have to die?
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 08:34:25 +0000
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