Protesters, police march peacefully in Ferguson

A diverse group of protesters, many of them children, marched peacefully on Saturday as calm prevailed for a fourth straight day in the St Louis suburb where an unarmed black 18-year-old was shot by a white police officer, setting off more than a week of unrest. 

Several community activists walked side-by-side with police officers in uniform down one of the streets in Ferguson that had been filled with armoured vehicles and officers in riot gear less than a week ago. 

‘I think some of the frustration is dying down because more information is coming out,’ said Alana Ramey, 25, a St Louis resident who joined the march. 

By late Saturday, just a few dozen peaceful protesters remained, with an even more sparse police presence along the three-block stretch of West Florissant Avenue that had been the site of the heaviest unrest. Unlike other nights, the street remained open to traffic. 

A St Louis County police spokesman reported one arrest for destruction of property, though an Associated Press reporter observed a second arrest.  The protesters included students and graduates of Harvard University who arrived in Ferguson after a 20-hour drive. The Harvard contingent chatted amicably with Missouri Highway Patrol capain Ron Johnson, who commended their passion.