Police officer kills unarmed man near St. Louis

Protesters demand answers after shooting; witnesses dispute police account

Protestors confront police during an impromptu rally, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014 to protest the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by police in Ferguson, Mo.  Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. Brown died following a confrontation with police, according to St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, who spoke at a news conference Sunday. (AP Photo/Sid Hastings)
Protestors confront police during an impromptu rally, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014 to protest the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by police in Ferguson, Mo. Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. Brown died following a confrontation with police, according to St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, who spoke at a news conference Sunday. (AP Photo/Sid Hastings)

FERGUSON, Mo. -- An unarmed 18-year-old black man was shot and killed by police in suburban St. Louis after an altercation that involved two people and an officer, authorities said Sunday while hundreds of protesters demanded answers.

Michael Brown had graduated from high school and was about to enter a local college, said his mother, Lesley McSpadden.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the shooting occurred after an officer encountered two people -- one of whom was Brown -- on the street near an apartment complex Saturday afternoon in Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb a few miles north of downtown St. Louis.

Belmar said one of the men pushed the officer back into his squad car and a struggle began. Brown then entered the officer's vehicle and a struggle ensued over the officer's weapon, according to police.

Belmar said at least one shot was fired from the officer's gun inside the police car. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson said authorities were still sorting out what happened inside the police car.

The officer and Brown then exited the vehicle and the struggle continued on the street, where Brown was shot multiple times, Belmar said. The exact number of shots wasn't known, but "it was more than just a couple," Belmar said. He also said all shell casings found at the scene matched the officer's gun. Police are still investigating why the officer shot Brown, who police have confirmed was unarmed.

Witnesses have had different accounts.

Dorin Johnson, a friend of Brown's, told the local Fox television affiliate that he was walking in the street with Brown when the police squad car pulled up. The officer said to "get the eff onto the sidewalk," he said.

"It was not but a minute from our destination and we would be off the street," Johnson said.

Johnson said the officer didn't get out of his police car, but "reach[ed] his arm out the window and grabbed my friend around the neck."

"I witnessed the police chase after the guy, full force," witness Piaget Crenshaw said. "He ran for his life. They shot him and he fell. He put his arms up to let them know that he was compliant and he was unarmed, and they shot him twice more, and he fell to the ground and died."

Belmar said the crime scene extends roughly 35 feet from where the police car was parked to where the fatal shooting took place.

Jackson said the person walking with Brown has not been arrested or charged and was expected to be interviewed later Sunday. Authorities aren't sure whether that person was unarmed, Jackson said.

McSpadden said she doesn't understand why police didn't subdue her son with a club or stun gun instead of shooting him, and she said the officer involved should be fired and prosecuted.

"I would like to see him go to jail with the death penalty," she said Sunday at the site of the shooting, fighting back tears.

The killing drew criticism from civil-rights leaders, and they referred to the 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a Florida neighborhood watch organizer who was acquitted of murder charges, as well as the New York City man who died from a police chokehold.

"We're outraged because yet again a young African-American man has been killed by law enforcement," said John Gaskin, who serves on both the St. Louis County and national boards of directors for the NAACP.

The Rev. Al Sharpton called the shooting death "very disturbing," and the New York-based civil-rights leader said he planned to go to Ferguson to meet with the family today or Tuesday.

A few hundred protesters gathered outside Ferguson police headquarters about the time a local police news conference was to begin. At one point, many of them marched into an adjacent police building, some chanting "Don't shoot me" while holding their hands in the air.

"It got heated very quickly," Jackson said. "There was lots of crowds gathering, lots of shouting and anger, protests and so forth."

Officers stood at the top of a staircase but didn't use force; the crowd eventually left.

Protesters outside chanted slogans -- "No justice, no peace" and "We want answers" -- and some carried signs that read "Stop police terrorism" and "Disarm the police."

Critics have contended that police in the St. Louis area too often target young black men. Statistics on police-involved shootings in the region were not immediately available.

The St. Louis County Police Department is in charge of the investigation. County Executive Charlie Dooley, who showed up at the protest Sunday to urge calm, said he will request an FBI investigation.

U.S. Justice Department spokesman Dena Iverson said Sunday that Attorney General Eric Holder had instructed attorneys in the department's civil-rights division to monitor developments.

The race of the police officer involved in the shooting has not been disclosed. He has been with the Ferguson Police Department for six years, Belmar said, noting he wasn't aware of other issues involving the officer. He has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is a common procedure after police shootings.

Jackson described the shooting as "tragic" in a television interview.

"It's tragic for the community. It's tragic for our police family," Jackson said. "We want this to come to a conclusion quickly."

Several protesters were angry that Brown's body remained on the street for hours after the killing. Belmar said that officers "had to practice our due diligence, and that's why it took as long as it did."

Information for this article was contributed by Jim Salter, Eric Tucker and Jim Suhr of The Associated Press and by Maya Srikrishnan of the Los Angeles Times.

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