Hundreds of demonstrators stood within touching distance from officers in riot gear late on Friday before dissipating at the start of protests over the 2-month-old death of Michael Brown that activists say was racially motivated.
Organisers of the four-day Ferguson October events expected 6,000 participants. The initial protest on Friday outside a St. Louis County prosecutor’s office didn’t draw nearly that amount. Later, tensions increased, with protesters outside the Ferguson police department chanting anti-police remarks such as, ‘How many kids did you kill today?’ A wall of about 100 officers in riot gear stood near them. The St. Louis County police department announced that it would arrest anyone who touched an officer.
Most of the crowd soon left, with organisers urging people to avoid arrest so that they could come back for more protests throughout the weekend. Protesters renewed their call for prosecutor Bob McCulloch to charge Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson officer, in the 9 Aug death of 18-year-old Brown, who was black and unarmed. A grand jury is reviewing the case, and the US justice department has opened a civil rights investigation into Brown’s death and a broader inquiry into the Ferguson police force.
Organisers of the four-day Ferguson October events expected 6,000 participants. The initial protest on Friday outside a St. Louis County prosecutor’s office didn’t draw nearly that amount. Later, tensions increased, with protesters outside the Ferguson police department chanting anti-police remarks such as, ‘How many kids did you kill today?’ A wall of about 100 officers in riot gear stood near them. The St. Louis County police department announced that it would arrest anyone who touched an officer.
Most of the crowd soon left, with organisers urging people to avoid arrest so that they could come back for more protests throughout the weekend. Protesters renewed their call for prosecutor Bob McCulloch to charge Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson officer, in the 9 Aug death of 18-year-old Brown, who was black and unarmed. A grand jury is reviewing the case, and the US justice department has opened a civil rights investigation into Brown’s death and a broader inquiry into the Ferguson police force.