Police use smoke canisters to clear Ferguson streets
Posted August 17, 2014 11:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Police fired smoke canisters into a crowd of about 400 demonstrators, including families with children, in Ferguson, Missouri, Sunday night, where they were protesting against the killing last week of an unarmed black teenager by police.
Police drove into the protest area in armored vehicles and shot smoke canisters to clear the demonstrators on the street during a protest that had until then appeared to be peaceful.
However, the Missouri Highway Patrol said it was using the smoke canisters to disperse “aggressors” who were trying to infiltrate a law enforcement command post, and that the armored vehicles were deployed to ensure public safety.
Authorities on Sunday had imposed a midnight curfew for the second night a row in the tense St. Louis suburb where an unarmed black teen was shot to death last week by police, seeking to secure an elusive peace as protesters continued to gather.
Police blocked off at least one street to vehicle traffic before the sun had even set. The move came as scores of protesters began gathering along West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, the site of ongoing protests as well as violence and looting since 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot to death on Aug. 9.
Earlier on Sunday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a federal autopsy of Brown’s body, seeking to assure the family and community there will be a thorough investigation into a death that has sparked days of racially charged protests.
The New York Times reported Sunday night that a private autopsy had found that Brown was shot at least six time — including twice in the head.
Eighteen-year-old Brown, who was black, was shot by white police officer Darren Wilson. The police department in the St. Louis suburb has come under strong criticism for both the death of an unarmed man and its handling of the aftermath.
