Tensions flare in Ferguson on police shooting anniversary

Posted 2015-08-10 12:48 by Grunt Report with 0 comments

Ferguson (United States) (AFP) – Tensions flared in the US city of Ferguson late Sunday as looters targeted at least one store following a day of somber remembrance to mark the anniversary of the police shooting of an unarmed black teen.

A crowd of about 50 people looted a beauty store in the St. Louis suburb and protesters grew confrontational late in the evening. There was no immediate word of any arrests.

Demonstrators had taken to the streets of Ferguson to mark the anniversary of 18-year-old Michael Brown’s death in a fateful encounter on August 9, 2014 with officer Darren Wilson.

The shooting — and a subsequent decision not to indict Wilson — led to violent unrest and set off nationwide protests and intense scrutiny of heavy-handed police tactics in a series of cases that ended in the deaths of unarmed blacks.

Sunday’s day of remembrance had been peaceful until a handful of protesters grew rowdy later in the evening. A crowd of about 300 people had gathered earlier to mark the anniversary, during which they observed four and a half minutes of silence and released two white doves.

The time represented the four and a half hours that Brown’s body lay face down in the street before being taken away.

Many in the crowd in Ferguson wore T-shirts emblazoned with Brown’s portrait and the words “Choose Change.” Others carried signs, including one that read: “STOP killing black children.”

They then set off in a silent march through Ferguson to the Greater St. Mark’s Church, which served as a sanctuary during the protests following Brown’s death.

Brown’s father, also called Michael, said he was grateful so many people had turned out for the march.

“If it wasn’t for y’all this would be swept under the carpet. So I just want to give my love out to y’all,” he said to the crowd.

In New York, dozens of people gathered at Union Square to hold a vigil for Brown in solidarity with Ferguson and to call for ongoing demonstrations against police killings of minorities.

Read the full article over at Yahoo News.