Police say teen shot near Ferguson was armed

"I had the opportunity last evening to review the video of the incident, and what I saw is not what people portray," Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said at a press conference on Wednesday, referring to claims by protesters that the incident was another in a series of racially-charged shootings of black men by white police officers. "This is not a policeman half-cocked, you know black lives matter — this was not the case (that) you could even compare this with the Ferguson or Garner case."

Hoskins' news conference was interrupted by a pointed exchange with Jason Keith Coleman, a black Baptist minister who insisted the shooting was the latest example of deadly aggression by "trigger-happy" police toward blacks.

"Call it what it is — a police officer has killed another black man and this has got to stop," Coleman shouted at the mayor.

"Everybody don't die the same," Hoskins countered. "Some people die because they initiate it, and at this point, our review suggests police did not initiate it."

The mayor also noted that unlike in Ferguson, where a mostly white police force serves a mostly black community, more than half of the officers in his city of 9,000 are black, including top command staff.

The video allegedly showing that the victim had a gun would be used in the investigation that the City of Berkeley will conduct in parallel with St. Louis County Police Department, Hoskins said. The Berkeley Police Department would do its own investigation, independent of St. Louis County, he added.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar says police were called about a theft and as the officer questioned two men, one pointed a gun at him. The officer fired three shots and one hit the victim.

Belmar did not provide more details about the theft Martin was being asked about. He said Martin pulled a loaded 9mm handgun and the officer fired three shots while stumbling backward. One hit Martin, who didn't fire his own gun. He died at the scene.

The officer wasn't wearing his body camera, and his cruiser's dashboard camera was not activated because the car's emergency lights were not on, Belmar said.

Police released surveillance video clips from three different angles. The men can be seen leaving the store as a patrol car drives up. The officer gets out and speaks with them.

About 90 seconds later, one appears to raise his arm, though it's difficult to see what he's holding because they were several feet from the camera. Belmar said it was a 9mm handgun with one round in the chamber and five more in the magazine.

Police were searching Wednesday for the other man, who ran away.

Belmar said the officer has been on the force for six years and that Martin had a criminal record that included three assault charges, plus charges of armed robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.

Martin's mother, Toni Martin-Green, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Antonio was the oldest of four children.

"He's like any other kid who had dreams or hopes," she said. "We loved being around him. He'd push a smile out of you."

Gov. Jay Nixon, who came under criticism by protesters over his handling of the demonstrations in Ferguson, issued a statement on the Berkeley shooting on Wednesday.

"The events in Berkeley are a reminder that law enforcement officers have a difficult, and often dangerous, job in protecting themselves and law-abiding citizens," Nixon said in a statement.

The protesters who gathered early Wednesday milled around the gas pumps at the station, some yelling at police officers. Some wore strands of yellow police-line tape draped around their neck, with others using it as a headband. Authorities from multiple agencies, some in riot gear, stood among the protesters.

Across the street, the glass doors of a convenience store were shattered, one of the doors left hanging from a single hinge. Police stood guard, turning people away. The crowd dispersed but police officers remained at the scene as dawn approached.

Orlando Brown, 36, of nearby St. Charles was among the protesters. He said he didn't have all the details about the shooting but said he wondered if it was a case of police aggression.

"I understand police officers have a job and have an obligation to go home to their families at the end of the night," he said. "But do you have to treat every situation with lethal force? ... It's not a racial issue, or black or white. It's wrong or right."

Brown said he was pepper-sprayed during the protest as police tried to separate him from a friend whose hand he was holding. He said his friend was arrested for failing to disperse.

Brown's death led to weeks of protests and some looting in the St. Louis area, actions that were renewed last month when a grand jury chose not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the killing.

Martin's death was the third fatal shooting of a young black man by a white police officer in the St. Louis area since Brown was killed on Aug. 9. Kajieme Powell, 25, was killed Aug. 19 after approaching St. Louis officers with a knife. Vonderrit Myers, 18, was fatally shot on Oct. 8 after allegedly shooting at a St. Louis officer.

Al Jazeera and the Associated Press