Missouri State Governor Jay Nixon
Only hours after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency, Ferguson was under curfew until earlier this Sunday. However, over 200 protestors defied the curfew and came out to demonstrate where African American teen Michael Brown was fatally shot last week.
CNN reported that Ferguson has become a flash point for racial tension when a demonstrator was shot and another person was arrested. The 200 or so protestors who came out to demonstrate began to shout slogans at the police. On Friday, police officers told the demonstrators to disperse and had their guns pointing at them. The police eventually had to leave the area only after throwing a few gas bombs at the demonstrators.
Some of the protestors were throwing bottles at the police and a few were even seen pointing cameras at them. Late in the night however, some protestors broke into a convenience store where Michael Brown who was shot last week had stolen cigars right before his death occurred.
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said at a press conference Friday that the officer was responding to a 911 call about the robbery of a $48.99 box of cigars, according to AP. Dorian Johnson, a friend of Brown, also admitted through his attorney that he and Brown had taken part in the theft of cigars, according to MSNBC. Not everyone agrees with Jackson’s beliefs however.
Brown’s family members asserted that this was merely an attempt by the police to lead the people’s attention away from the shooting. They asked the police why Michael was shot even after he held up his hands to surrender himself to the officials.
"There is nothing based on the facts that have been placed before us that can justify the execution style murder of their child by this police officer as he held his hands up, which is the universal sign of surrender," the family said in a statement. The Ferguson police chief however expressed that they did not even realize Brown was a suspect until an officer stopped him for blocking traffic and saw the stolen cigars in his hand.
