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Police fired tear gas at demonstrators filling street ‘for justice’

Posted at 8:44 PM, Aug 13, 2014
and last updated 2014-08-13 22:46:01-04


FERGUSON, MO (KTVI) – Police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesters late Wednesday for another night, as they gathered to protest the deadly shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Officers then marched toward the protesters near a burned out a gas station, on West Florissant where the teen was shot, which has become the gathering point for demonstrations.

Another crowd gathered outside Ferguson’s police station holding up signs and chanting protests for a fifth day.

A Ferguson police officer shot and killed the African-American teenager on Saturday, and the public still does not know the name of the person who pulled the trigger.

The St. Louis suburb of 21,000  has been  wracked by violence as outraged protesters clash with police as they demonstrate, often peacefully.

As federal civil rights investigators and the FBI carry out their own inquiry into the case, tensions are running high in Ferguson, where there’s a history of distrust between the predominately black community and the largely white police force.

Brown was African-American. Police have not identified the shooter, but a witness told CNN on Tuesday that the officer who opened fire is a Caucasian male.

Earlier the police department asked protesters to restrict their gatherings to daylight hours.

“Unfortunately, those who wish to co-opt peaceful protests and turn them into violent demonstrations have been able to do so over the past several days during the evening hours,” the department said.

Protests in Ferguson, MO - August 13, 2014

Later, the police chief added: “We understand the anger; we understand that people want answers. We understand that we’ve got a problem, but we’re just asking people to be peaceful.”

Wednesday evening brought an variety of people out to the streets to show what they all said was justice for Michael Brown. There was a band set up on a truck and people singing and dancing. The Church of God in Christ held a revival in the street.

Ahead of dusk the event is festive, with a peaceful atmosphere amid the heavy police presence. In stark contrast, police line the perimeter in tactical gear.

CBS 6 affiliate KTVI has reporters on the scene, and are providing live updates here.

The public still does not know the name of the person who pulled the trigger. Despite cries of a cover-up, there’s good reason for the silence, local officials say. Since the shooting Saturday, police have received death threats against the officer, and it has spread from there, Mayor James W. Knowles said Wednesday on CNN’s “New Day.”

“Hackers have tried to find personal information and display it online on social media, asking people to target myself, council members, the police chief,” he said. “The county police chief’s own home was put on Instagram, and people (were) asked to go there and assault him.”

Ferguson’s police chief told CNN that the officer who shot Brown had been injured in the scuffle, and the Police Department issued a statement saying that “Ferguson mourns the loss of Michael Brown’s life” and that it had “heard the community’s cries for justice.”