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Ferguson mourns, DOJ to investigate

FERGUSON, Mo. — Riot police and reinforcements were called in to Ferguson late last night to help with crowd dispersal, and hundreds from around the community showed up outside the police station today as public outrage continues to swell over the killing of an unarmed black teenager in North St. Louis County.

The crowd
The crowd

It began on Saturday when 18-year-old Michael Brown was involved in an incident with a Ferguson police officer, who has yet to be identified. According to police, the officer stopped Brown and another man for a routine patrol stop when the situation “quickly escalated.”

Police say Brown was involved in an altercation inside the officer’s patrol car over the officer’s weapon. Police say a single round was discharged during the scuffle before Brown was shot multiple times in the street. At least one eye witness on the scene as well as several locals have claimed that Brown was shot as many as 10 times while attempting to flee. A subsequent search found no drugs or weapons on Brown’s person.

Locals say the police aren’t giving the full facts of the story and doubt that Brown — who did not have a criminal reputation and was set to begin his first college classes today — would have been involved in an altercation with a police officer.

Local area leaders came out last night and today to call for an investigation into the shooting, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal were both present in the crowd.

Chappelle-Nadal — one of the most vocal senators in the state and a black woman — was at today’s rally holding a photo of Gov. Jay Nixon’s face, chanting that he was “M.I.A.”

“Your governor is missing in action, your governor doesn’t care about you – where is he?” Chappelle-Nadal bellowed to the crowd. “He’s always missing, missing in action.’

Tensions boiled over late last night as the crowd began to move away from Ferguson police station. Rioters looted and set a local Quik Trip gas station ablaze before looting was reported at a local Wal-Mart and some auto-parts businesses. Dozens of arrests were made in last night’s chaos, however no fatalities occurred.

“This begins and ends with educating black children,” Chappelle-Nadal told The Missouri Times. “Where is Governor Nixon’s plan for the black community? He doesn’t have one and I’m certain he never will.”

Chappelle-Nadal said she absolutely did not condone violence, but that the shooting is merely a focal point of larger frustrations in the community.

Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, calls out Gov. Nixon at rally
Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, calls out Gov. Nixon at rally

“We need young black people to be engaged and involved with their communities,” Chappelle-Nadal said. “We need to demand more accountability from our police, but we also need more diversity in our police. You have young black men growing up with police officers that don’t look like them, that find them suspicious. They aren’t going to trust those officers, and there isn’t going to be that sense of community there.”

Nixon said in a statement earlier today that he formally requested the U.S. Department of Justice conduct an independent investigation of the shooting, and the FBI is now handling the investigation.

“This morning, I notified St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley that I would be making a formal request to the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation into the fatal shooting in Ferguson this past Saturday,” Nixon said in a statement. “It is vital that the facts about this case are gathered in a thorough, transparent and impartial manner, in which the public has complete confidence.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this tragic event, and I ask St. Louis County residents to exercise patience and respect for their neighbors as federal authorities work to get to the bottom of what happened through this comprehensive, independent review.”

The protest today was charged with emotion. Some attendees stood before the wall of officers decked-out in riot gear, shouting various charges of greed, violence and corruption as officers stood stony-faced.

One woman, who did not give her name, wept openly in the streets. When others offered her a chair and water, she shook her head and continued to wail, “they killed my brother too, they killed my brother last year, they killed my brother, too.”

Protestors marched back and fourth in front of Ferguson police department, blocking off the streets.

“Hands up, don’t shoot!” and “No justice, no peace,” rang through the air as news and police helicopters circled overhead.

It didn’t take long for the situation to gain national attention, and CNN was on scene earlier today speaking with locals. U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt both issues statements supporting an investigation into the incident.

“As a mother, I grieve for this child and his family. I pray that the wonderful, hardworking, and God-loving people of Ferguson will find peace and patience as we wait for the results of what will be numerous and thorough investigations of what happened,” McCaskill said in her statement. “I, like so many other Missourians, will not be satisfied until we have a complete and transparent understanding of all the facts and circumstances that led to this young man’s death.”

Blunt echoed the call for grief and an independent review of the facts.

“I join all Missourians in remembering the family of Michael Brown and the Ferguson community as they grieve the tragic loss of this young man. His recent high school graduation should have been a beginning of better things. Everyone deserves a transparent understanding of what happened here. I am fully supportive of County Executive Charlie Dooley and St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar calling for DOJ and the FBI to take a careful, open review of the events that led to this tragedy for everyone involved.”

At least one more rally is planned for tomorrow outside the office of Bob McCulloch, St. Louis County Prosecutor, at 10AM.