U.S.
David Goldman / AP Photo
Protesters returned to the riot-scarred streets of Ferguson on Tuesday, a day after crowds looted businesses and set fire to buildings in a night of rage against a grand jury's decision not to indict the white police officer who killed Michael Brown.
A police car was overturned and set afire outside the police department. Tactical units, canine units and armored vehicles were deployed, and gunshots from an unknown source were heard.
The St. Louis County Police Department's media officer, Shawn McGuire, said early Wednesday morning that two FBI agents had been shot and suffered non-life threatening injuries.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported making eight misdemeanor arrests while the county police reported 37 misdeameanor arrests and seven felony arrests — four four assault on a law enforcment officer and three for "armed criminal action." Most of the misdemeanors arrests were for unlawful assembly.
The streets of Ferguson and the wider St. Louis area were patrolled by 2,200 National Guardsmen on Tuesday evening — a tripling in the size of police back-up intended to stave off a repeat of the chaotic scenes witnessed just 24 hours earlier.
The move, announced Tuesday evening by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, comes amid concern that calls for calm following a grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer over the fatal shooting of a black teen would not be heeded for a second straight night.
"The Guard's rapid response teams will be positioned so they will be ready to act a moment's notice," said Nixon.
On Monday night, some 700 National Guard members played a support role in the Ferguson region. But it was insufficient to prevent an outburst of rioting that saw a dozen or so shops set ablaze and testy confrontations with the police.
That night of chaos, arson and unrest — slammed Tuesday evening by President Barack Obama who said he had "no sympathy" with those involved in destructive acts — gave way to an uneasy calm Tuesday, during which residents and store owners surveyed the damage and begun the cleanup operation.
Yet throughout Tuesday and into the early evening, Ferguson was relatively quiet until the police car was overturned and set afire outside the police department. Guard units protected the Ferguson Police Department and left crowd control, arrests and use of tear gas to local officers.
Outside police headquarters, one woman was taken into custody after protesters hurled what appeared to be smoke bombs, flares and frozen water bottles at a line of officers. Several other protesters were arrested after defying police instructions to get out of the street or out of the way of police vehicles.
As a crowd of protesters dispersed early Wednesday, some threw rocks through the windows of a muffler shop and a used-car dealership, near a painted mural that read "Peace for Ferguson."
Some streets that had been overrun the previous night were deserted, except for the occasional police cruiser or National Guard vehicle. Guard crews stood watch in empty parking lots.
The largest protests on Tuesday were taking place in other cities around the country: New York, Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, Baltimore, the District of Columbia, and Cleveland.
Amid the relative calm that followed overnight mayhem in Ferguson, scattered rallies persisted throughout the day, with community members continuing to protest a grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson, a white policy officer, for the Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
About 100 demonstrators, including many clergy members, took to the streets of the St. Louis suburb just hours after overnight clashes had left areas scarred by arson. Demonstrators observed a 4 1/2-minute moment of silence to mark the 4 1/2 hours that Brown's body remained on a Ferguson street before it was removed.
But it was a far calmer scene than that witnessed the previous night, when the grand jury decision was first delivered. Following the announcement, a crowd near the Ferguson police station erupted in anger, converging on a barricade where police in riot gear were standing. They pushed down the barriers and began pelting police with items, including a bullhorn. The windows of a police car were smashed and protesters tried to topple it before it was set on fire. Police later confirmed they used tear gas in response.
More than 80 people were arrested in the chaos, the majority of whom were held on suspicion of trespassing and burglary. Fourteen people were injured in the protests and a dozen or more shops were set on fire.
In passionate comments in a Chicago event Tuesday, Obama said he had "no sympathy at all for destroying your community," adding that although he understood the anger, "I've never seen a civil rights law or health care bill or an immigration bill result because a car got burnt."
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told local press on Tuesday morning he thought the clashes were "unfortunate."
“I think the unfortunate part about it is what that violence does. It not only puts a black eye on our community, but it sets back the cause of social justice,” he said.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson assured reporters during a Tuesday press conference that they would "see a large police presence tonight," as local law enforcement attempts to quell the unrest that had been unleashed the night before.
The decision not to indict Wilson came more than three months after the police officer killed Brown, 18, during a confrontation in the St. Louis suburb, setting off weeks of demonstrations and a national conversation about policing and race relations. Since the shooting, the St. Louis region has been bracing for renewed unrest.
After Monday’s grand jury announcement, the Brown family released a statement saying they were "profoundly disappointed," but they asked that the public to "channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen."
That appeal against violent protest was repeated Tuesday, but anger over the decision was still clearly evident.
Benjamin Crump, lawyer for the Brown family, condemned the process that saw Wilson acquitted as "unfair and broken."
"We object to this process because, all across America, young people of color are being killed by police officers and local prosecutors put together these unbiased grand juries and it continues to yield the same result," he added.
In a Tuesday press conference, attorneys for the Browns were joined by long-standing civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton who likewise denounced the grand jury process as "broken," and McCulloch himself as biased in favor of Officer Wilson.
"We said from the very beginning that the decision of this grand jury was going to be a direct reflection of the presentation of evidence by the prosecutor's office," said family attorney Anthony Gray. "If they had presented to indict, there would have been an indictment."
The Justice Department is conducting a separate investigation into possible civil rights violations that could result in federal charges against Wilson, but investigators would need to satisfy a rigorous standard of proof in order to mount a prosecution. The department also has launched a broad probe into the Ferguson Police Department, looking for patterns of discrimination.
Despite the latest violent outburst, authorities will be mindful not to be seen to be responding too heavy-handedly. Local police drew nationwide criticism during the first days of mostly peaceful protests just after Brown's death, when officers donned riot gear and patrolled in armored vehicles, raising concerns about increasing police militarization under a federal program that supplies surplus military equipment to police departments.
During the weeks of protests, a small number of demonstrators attacked squad cars, tossed gasoline bombs at officers and, in a few cases, fired guns in the direction of police, who responded with tear gas, smoke canisters and rubber bullets. On many nights, dozens were arrested.
With wire services. Brian Heffernan and William Powell contributed to this report from Ferguson.
In aftermath of Ferguson, lawmakers ask whether local police forces need military-style equipment
Shooting comes amid simmering tension between many community members and local police
Many arrive in the St. Louis area out of concern that the grand jury will not indict the officer who shot Michael Brown
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.