Associated Press
FERGUSON, Missouri--Protests in the St. Louis suburb rocked by
unrest since a white police officer shot an unarmed black teenager
to death again turned violent Wednesday night, with people lobbing
Molotov cocktails and other objects at police who responded with
smoke bombs and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, who has been the public
face of the city torn by Saturday's death of 18-year-old Michael
Brown, told reporters earlier in the day that the St. Louis County
investigation of the shooting could take weeks to complete.
Meanwhile, he said, his department welcomes Justice Department
training on racial relations in the suburb, where two-thirds of the
21,000 residents are black while all but three of the police
force's 53 officers are white.
"Unfortunately, an undertow (of racial unrest) has bubbled to
the surface," said Mr. Jackson. "Race relations is the top priority
right now."
While Mr. Jackson said he wanted to mend fences with the
community, protesters were on the streets of Ferguson again
Wednesday, facing heavily armed police who at time trained weapons
on them from an armored truck. The situation became more tense
after nightfall, with police ordering people to go home and then
using smoke bombs and, later, tear gas after they said some people
threw Molotov cocktails at them.
Two reporters, Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan
Reilly of the Huffington Post, said they were detained by police
while working at a McDonald's in the area.
Mr. Jackson didn't immediately return a cellphone message
Wednesday night seeking comment.
Some protesters Wednesday raised their arms above their heads as
they faced the police. Others held signs asking for answers about
Mr. Brown's death. The most popular chant has been, "Hands up!
Don't shoot!"
Mr. Brown's body remained on the street for hours--a span Mr.
Jackson deemed "uncomfortable" but justified, given that "you only
get one chance at that crime scene" to process it correctly. Mr.
Jackson said authorities also were concerned about gunfire they
could hear in a nearby building.
In the shooting's aftermath, the hacking collective Anonymous
has taken credit for burrowing into the city website and shutting
it down for much of Monday. The group also released what it said
were audio excerpts from St. Louis County dispatch on the day Mr.
Brown was killed. Police declined to comment on the recordings
Wednesday.
Copyright 2014 the Associated Press.
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