Grief and Protests Follow Shooting of a Teenager
Police Say Mike Brown Was Killed After Struggle for Gun in St. Louis Suburb
The
fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager Saturday by a police
officer in a St. Louis suburb came after a struggle for the officer’s
gun, police officials said Sunday, in an explanation that met with
outrage and skepticism in the largely African-American community.
The
killing of the youth, Michael Brown, 18, ignited protests on Saturday
and Sunday in Ferguson, Mo., a working-class suburb of about 20,000
residents. Hundreds of people gathered at the scene of the shooting to
question the police and to light candles for Mr. Brown, who was planning
to begin college classes on Monday.
Mr. Brown’s stepfather, Louis Head, held a cardboard sign that said, “Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son.”
At
a news conference on Sunday morning, the St. Louis County police chief,
Jon Belmar, said that a man had been shot and killed after he had
assaulted a police officer and the two had struggled over the officer’s
gun inside his patrol car. At least one shot was fired from inside the
car, Chief Belmar said.
“The genesis of this was a physical confrontation,” Chief Belmar told reporters.
But
elected officials and advocacy groups called for a full investigation
and questioned the tactics of the police, who acknowledged that Mr.
Brown had been unarmed. Antonio French, a city councilman in St. Louis,
was at the scene of the protests on Sunday and said in an interview that
more than 100 people had gathered, most of them silently standing in
groups, some leaving behind teddy bears and balloons to memorialize Mr.
Brown.
Mr. French said he was unsatisfied with the police department’s explanation of the shooting.
“I
find it hard to believe,” he said, adding that he was disappointed with
the police response in the aftermath of the shooting, which further
distressed Ferguson residents and members of Mr. Brown’s family.
“It’s
a textbook example of how not to handle the situation,” Mr. French
said. “Ferguson has a white government and a white mayor, but a large
black population. This situation has brought out whatever rifts were
between that minority community and the Ferguson government.”
Esther Haywood, the president of the N.A.A.C.P.
in St. Louis County, said in a statement: “We are hurt to hear that yet
another teenaged boy has been slaughtered by law enforcement,
especially in light of the recent death of Eric Garner in New York,
who was killed for selling cigarettes. We plan to do everything within
our power to ensure that the Ferguson Police Department as well as the
St. Louis County Police Department releases all details pertinent to the
shooting. We strongly encourage residents to stay away from the crime
scene so that no additional citizens are injured.”
The
police on Sunday said they were still trying to sort out the exact
details, but they released what they said was the fullest account of the
shooting that they could provide. Just after noon on Saturday, the
police said, an officer in a patrol car approached Mr. Brown and another
man. As the officer began to leave his vehicle, one of the men pushed
the officer back into the car and “physically assaulted” him, according
to the police department’s account.
A
struggle occurred “over the officer’s weapon,” and at least one shot
was fired inside the car, Chief Belmar said. The two left the car, and
the officer shot Mr. Brown about 35 feet away from the vehicle, the
police reported. Several shots were fired from the officer’s weapon.
The medical examiner for St. Louis County is investigating to determine how many times Mr. Brown was shot, the police said.
Chief
Belmar said that the Ferguson police chief, Thomas Jackson, had called
him personally and asked that his department to look into the shooting
because Chief Jackson wanted an independent investigation. Chief Belmar
said that the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney would determine
whether the shooting was justified or charges should be filed.
As
Chief Belmar spoke at a televised news conference, chants of “Don’t
shoot!” and “We want answers!” could be heard from the protesters who
had gathered outside the Ferguson police headquarters.
At
a candlelight vigil on Sunday evening, the heightened tensions between
the police and the African-American community were on display. A crowd
estimated in the thousands flooded the streets near the scene of the
shooting, some of them chanting “No justice, no peace.” They were met by
hundreds of police officers in riot gear, carrying rifles and shields,
as well as K-9 units.
Witnesses
described a peaceful protest that later turned volatile, and there were
scattered reports of violence. Images and videos captured on cellphones
and posted on social media sites appeared to show people spray-painting
and looting a QuikTrip gas station and other stores. Rioters shattered
the windows of the gas station and damaged several police cars, said
Brian Lewis, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department.
It
was not immediately clear if anyone was injured or arrested during the
protests. County officials did not return calls and messages seeking
comment.
Community and civic leaders pleaded for calm and to allow the investigation to run its course.
“We
have to do this in a constructive manner,” Mayor James Knowles III of
Ferguson said in an interview with a local Fox television station.
The
officer who shot Mr. Brown has been on the force about six years and
will be interviewed extensively by detectives on Sunday, the police
said. They did not identify the officer involved by either name or rank.
“Any
other details, including the reason as to why the encounter occurred
and the initial struggle ensued, are still a part of the continuing
investigation,” the police said in a statement.
Family
members of Mr. Brown said that he had been walking to his grandmother’s
house when the shooting occurred. His body remained in the street for
some time, guarded by the police, while neighbors gathered in the area.
Police
officials, fearing civil disorder, dispatched officers with police dogs
to control the crowds. In response, some Twitter users posted pictures
of the dogs at the Ferguson gathering on Saturday next to photos of
police dogs used to control African-American crowds during the Jim Crow
era.
Mr.
Brown had just graduated from high school and was planning to attend
Vatterott College, his mother, Lesley McSpadden, told reporters. His
family has retained Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who represented Trayvon
Martin’s relatives.
“You
took my son away from me,” she told the television news station KMOV.
“Do you know how hard it was for me to get him to stay in school and
graduate? You know how many black men graduate? Not many. Because you
bring them down to this type of level, where they feel like they don’t
got nothing to live for anyway. ‘They’re going to try to take me out
anyway.’ ”
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