More Ferguson Protests Bring Confrontation, Arrests

Police arrested nearly two dozen people in Ferguson during a protest that stretched into early Tuesday marking the anniversary of the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, although there was no repeat of the violence that scarred weekend demonstrations.
There were no shots fired and no burglaries, looting or property damage during the protest along West Florissant Avenue, county police spokesman Shawn McGuire said. The St. Louis suburb thoroughfare was the focus of months of massive protests and sometimes violent unrest last summer after the killing of Brown by a Ferguson police officer.
But on Monday night, no smoke or tear gas was used, and no police or civilians reported injuries, McGuire said in a statement. By 1:00 a.m., the crowd and police were heading home.
McGuire said approximately 23 arrests were made, though police were still confirming official totals.
Late Sunday, a protest in the same area was interrupted by gunfire and a police shooting that left an 18-year-old suspect critically injured. The violence set Ferguson on edge and had protest leaders worried that tensions could escalate. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger declared a state of emergency that authorized county Police Chief Jon Belmar to take control of police emergency management in and around Ferguson.
At the Sunday night demonstration, tensions escalated after several hundred people gathered in the street, ignoring repeated warnings to get to the sidewalk or face arrest. Several gunshots rang out from an area near a strip of stores, including some that had been looted moments earlier. The shots sent protesters and reporters running for cover.
Belmar said he believed there were six shooters, including 18-year-old Tyrone Harris Jr., who the police chief said opened fire on officers.
Harris was in critical condition after surgery Monday. Prosecutors announced 10 charges against him — five counts of armed criminal action, four counts of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and a firearms charge.

This article appeared in print on page 9 of the August 12th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.