FERGUSON, Mo., (Reuters) – Authorities declared a state of emergency in Ferguson, Missou-ri, yesterday in an effort to quell a repeat of the violence that erupted during demonstrations overnight to mark the police shooting of an unarmed black man one year ago.
The order was issued for the St. Louis suburb and surrounding areas amid already tense relations between residents and police after officers shot and critically wounded an 18-year-old man in an exchange of gunfire that marred what had been a day of peaceful demonstrations.
Prosecutors charged the man, Tyrone Harris, who was in critical condition in hospital, with four criminal counts, including “assault on law enforcement” and shooting at a motor vehicle. His bond was set at $250,000.
St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said he made the state of emergency declaration because of “the potential for harm to persons and property.” It marked another chapter in the turmoil that has gripped Ferguson since Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot dead by white officer Darren Wilson a year ago.
On a day of civil disobedience called by activists to protest the shooting of Brown and other unarmed black men across the United States by police, several people were arrested as they jumped barricades at a courthouse in St. Louis, news video reports showed.
Clergy and civil rights groups led the rally of more than 100 people through city streets, shouting, “This is what democracy looks like” and “Black lives matter.”
The death of Brown and a grand jury’s decision to spare the white officer from criminal charges led to a wave of demonstrations that boiled over into rioting and arson at times and spawned sympathy rallies across the country.
Brown’s death also prompted greater scrutiny of racial bias within the U.S. criminal justice system, giving rise to the “Black Lives Matter” movement that gained momentum from other high-profile killings of unarmed minorities by white police in cities such as New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and most recently Arlington, Texas..
What began as peaceful demonstrations on Sunday night in Ferguson descended into chaos as volleys of gunshots rang out as police in riot gear tried to disperse protesters blocking traffic and smashing storefront windows along a street that was a flashpoint of riots last year after Brown, 18, was shot dead.
