Anger spurred by the death of a black teenager shot by a white police officer boiled over again when protesters stormed into a Missouri convenience store — the same store that Michael Brown was accused of robbing.
Police and about 200 protesters clashed in Ferguson, Missouri late on Friday after another tense day in the St Louis suburb, a day that included authorities identifying the officer who fatally shot Brown on August 9. At the same news conference in which officer Darren Wilson was named, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released documents alleging that Brown stole a $48.99 box of cigars from the convenience store, then strong-armed a man on his way out.
Just before midnight, some people in what had been a large and rowdy but mostly well-behaved crowd broke into that same small store and began looting it, said Missouri State highway patrol captain Ron Johnson. Some in the crowd began throwing rocks and other objects at police, Johnson said. One officer was hurt but details on the injury were not immediately available.
Johnson said police backed off, hoping to ease the tension. No arrests were made.
‘We had to evaluate the security of the officers there and also the rioters,’ Johnson said. Meanwhile, peaceful protesters yelled at the aggressors to stop what they were doing. About a dozen people eventually blocked off the front of the convenience store to help protect it.
Police and about 200 protesters clashed in Ferguson, Missouri late on Friday after another tense day in the St Louis suburb, a day that included authorities identifying the officer who fatally shot Brown on August 9. At the same news conference in which officer Darren Wilson was named, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released documents alleging that Brown stole a $48.99 box of cigars from the convenience store, then strong-armed a man on his way out.
Just before midnight, some people in what had been a large and rowdy but mostly well-behaved crowd broke into that same small store and began looting it, said Missouri State highway patrol captain Ron Johnson. Some in the crowd began throwing rocks and other objects at police, Johnson said. One officer was hurt but details on the injury were not immediately available.
Johnson said police backed off, hoping to ease the tension. No arrests were made.
‘We had to evaluate the security of the officers there and also the rioters,’ Johnson said. Meanwhile, peaceful protesters yelled at the aggressors to stop what they were doing. About a dozen people eventually blocked off the front of the convenience store to help protect it.