Protesters, Police Clash in Ferguson
Police in riot gear fired stun grenades and tear gas at protesters who gathered on the streets of Ferguson, which had descended into chaos following peaceful protests. Molotov cocktails were thrown in the direction of heavily armored police, and gunshots were fired.
A police official, Captain Ron Johnson, told reporters early Tuesday that police came under heavy attack but did not fire a shot. He said two people were wounded by shots fired from within the crowd of protesters. Many protesters seemed to be defying orders from police to disperse, and Johnson said 31 people were arrested.
He noted that most of the protesters were peaceful, but that a small minority of people turned the demonstrations violent. He said officials will not let "criminals" define the community of Ferguson.
National Guard troops could be seen on the fringes of the gathering. Those troops arrived in Ferguson earlier Monday at the request of Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to bolster police forces following days of violent protests.
The standoff occurred near the street where 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by a local police officer on August 9.
The latest clashes appeared to be less intense than those between police and demonstrators late Sunday, when police in body armor and gas masks, accompanied by armored vehicles, fired tear gas at protesters marching toward them. Police said at least two of the protesters were wounded by shots fired from within a crowd of demonstrators.
A curfew in Ferguson was lifted Monday after being enforced the previous two nights.
On Monday, President Barack Obama said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Ferguson on Wednesday to get an update on the federal probe into the shooting death of the black teenager, 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Obama said Holder will meet with Department of Justice and FBI officials on the federal, independent civil rights investigation into the August 9 killing of Brown. Holder will also meet with community leaders on efforts to restore peace and calm to the town outside the city of St. Louis.
The president said while a vast majority of people are protesting peacefully, he urged the "small minority" of demonstrators to "not give into anger by looting or carrying guns or attacking police." Obama said such actions only serve to heighten tensions and chaos and undermine "rather than advance justice." He also said "there is no excuse for excessive force by police" or any action that denies the rights of those peacefully protesting.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on authorities in Ferguson to use restraint and uphold the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
The appeal for calm came as an independent autopsy showed Brown was shot at least six times on August 9, including two bullets to the top of his head.
Attorneys for the family of Michael Brown said Monday the preliminary autopsy shows the unarmed black teen was "trying to surrender" when Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot him in the middle of a Ferguson street.
Wilson is on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
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