Curfew imposed after looting

Crowd tells governor it’s a bad move

People gather next to a makeshift memorial for Michael Brown Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014, located at the site where Brown was shot by police a week ago in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting in the middle of a street following a suspected robbery of a box of cigars from a nearby market has sparked a week of protests, riots and looting in the St. Louis suburb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
People gather next to a makeshift memorial for Michael Brown Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014, located at the site where Brown was shot by police a week ago in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting in the middle of a street following a suspected robbery of a box of cigars from a nearby market has sparked a week of protests, riots and looting in the St. Louis suburb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

FERGUSON, Mo. -- After a week of unrest that followed the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a police officer, Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Ferguson and ordered a curfew.

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"We will not allow a handful of looters to endanger the rest of this community," Nixon said at a chaotic news conference at a church that was interrupted repeatedly by people objecting to the curfew and demanding that the officer who shot Michael Brown be charged with murder.

"I am committed to making sure the forces of peace and justice prevail," Nixon said. "If we're going to achieve justice, we must first have and maintain peace. This is a test. The eyes of the world are watching."

Capt. Ron Johnson, the Missouri State Highway Patrol commander whose officers have overseen public security in Ferguson since Thursday, said that the curfew would begin Saturday and would run from midnight to 5 a.m. He did not say how long the curfew would be in place.

Missouri law gives the governor broad powers when he declares a state of emergency, but Nixon hasn't indicated that he plans to do anything other than imposing the curfew and empowering the highway patrol to enforce it.

The decision to impose a curfew came after a night of unrest with sporadic looting late in the evening. Earlier, hundreds had gathered peacefully at a rally to protest the Aug. 9 shooting death of Brown.

The curfew announcement prompted cries of protest and anguish from some members of the public who attended the news conference, with many of them arguing that a curfew would only lead to new and fierce confrontations. But Johnson said the curfew would be put in place and enforced.

"We won't enforce it with trucks; we won't enforce it with tear gas. We will enforce it with communication," Johnson said. "We will be telling people, 'It's time to go home.'"

Nixon announced his decision at Greater St. Mark Family Church, near the site of the unrest. The news conference quickly became frenzied, with the governor and Johnson confronting a volley of aggressive questions, most of them from residents.

Some residents shouted at the governor, including one man who said, "We will not get sleep until we get justice for Michael Brown."

Another man shouted, "Sleep is not an option, Gov. Nixon."

Among the many people shouting questions was Malik Shabazz, the president of Black Lawyers for Justice, who said that members of his group and the New Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam had been helping to maintain order and deter protesters from violence.

"It seems to be a tight curfew line that could be a prescription for confrontation," said Shabazz, who was unsuccessful in getting the curfew's start delayed by an hour.

But hours before the curfew would take effect Saturday night, hundreds of protesters gathered -- despite heavy rainfall and lightning -- at a busy thoroughfare that has been the site of previous clashes with police. Dozens of officers, a much more visible presence than the night before, stood watch -- including some with shields.

Video's release opposed

Earlier Saturday, in a new sign of discord among authorities over the handling of the investigation into Brown's death, the Justice Department said that it had opposed the release of a video that the Ferguson Police Department said showed the teenager apparently involved in a robbery at a convenience store.

The Justice Department asked the Police Department not to release the video because of concerns that "it would roil the community further," a U.S. law enforcement official said Saturday. The Police Department released the video Friday, and the Justice Department official said it "occurred over the objection of federal authorities."

The official said a copy of the video had been in possession of federal investigators, as well, "and there were never any plans by the federal investigators to release that copy."

The surveillance video appears to show Brown, 18, stealing a box of cigarillos. Shortly after the release of the video, Johnson expressed his displeasure, saying he had not been told that the police planned to release it.

Brown's family and many protesters accused the police of trying to harm the teenager's reputation and to divert attention from the officer who killed him. The police on Friday identified the officer as Darren Wilson; he has been put on administrative leave.

Police said Wilson, a six-year police veteran, was unaware Brown was a robbery suspect when he initially encountered him walking in the street with a friend.

The Ferguson Police Department has refused to say anything about Wilson's whereabouts, and reporters were unable to contact him at any addresses or phone numbers listed under that name in the St. Louis area.

Nixon also said the U.S. Department of Justice is beefing up its civil-rights investigation of the shooting.

Johnson said 40 FBI agents were going door to door in the neighborhood starting Saturday, talking to people who might have seen or have information about the shooting.

But St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said it could be weeks before the investigation wraps up.

He did say Saturday that a grand jury will begin hearing evidence in the case this week.

"We are doing it as we go along" rather than wait to present entire body of evidence to the grand jury, McCulloch said in a brief phone interview.

St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley asked Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster on Friday to take over the case, saying he did not believe McCulloch could be objective. Koster said Missouri law does not allow it unless McCulloch opts out, and McCulloch spokesman Ed Magee said the prosecutor has no plans to surrender the case.

Looting re-emerges

Brown's death has already ignited several days of clashes with furious protesters. Tensions eased Thursday after Nixon turned oversight of the protests over to the state highway patrol. Gone were the police in riot gear and armored vehicles, replaced by the new patrol commander who walked through the streets with demonstrators.

But Friday night and Saturday morning marked a resurgence of unrest.

The sound of cheers, honking car horns and a miniature percussion concert Friday night outside the QuikTrip convenience store -- which had been burned in looting last week -- gave way early Saturday to shouts and the sounds of crunching glass as young men in masks broke into stores and emerged carrying boxes of alcohol.

One of the stores attacked Saturday was the Ferguson Market, where police say Brown was involved in a strong-arm robbery before he was killed.

Abe Van Dyke, an independent photojournalist, said that during the protests, he was punched by looters and his camera equipment damaged after police began firing tear gas.

"Things just went out of control really quick," said Van Dyke, a resident of Waukesha, Wis.

First, Van Dyke said, he saw looters breaking into a liquor store next to a McDonald's, triggering police to advance in riot gear.

Meanwhile, the Ferguson Burger Bar owner Kizzie Davis said she watched the turmoil from her restaurant window. Her business was spared any looting and damage, even though stores on both sides of her place were hit. She said the police presence to protect businesses was minimal.

"It's like they had given up by the end of the night," she said. "They tried a little to protect us."

Davis said police need to make up their mind whether they will use full force or not to deter looters.

St. Louis Alderman Antonio French, who has been a fixture on Twitter and at nightly street demonstrations, spent early Saturday trying to pacify the protesters.

French tweeted later Saturday morning that he and another community activist had met with Johnson, of the highway patrol, and had agreed that police should not advance to stop the looting.

The confrontation between the police and demonstrators ended about 4 a.m. when the authorities, prompted by the gradual dispersal of demonstrators, pulled back to their nearby command post.

"I want to be clear," French said later on Twitter. "Police not coming in at this point -- even with the looting -- was a good thing. It could have become very violent."

The demonstrations in Ferguson also have sparked confrontations elsewhere in the U.S. During a mainly peaceful rally in Oakland, Calif., an officer was briefly hospitalized after being assaulted, authorities said Saturday.

On Friday, several protesters assaulted the officer while he attempted to make an arrest, said an Oakland police spokesman. The injured officer was taken to a hospital and later released.

At least two other officers were pepper-sprayed and treated at the scene, the spokesman said.

Information for this article was contributed by Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Alan Blinder, Julie Bosman and Charlie Savage of The New York Times; David A. Lieb and Nigel Duara of The Associated Press; by Nancy Cambria, Steve Giegerich and Chuck Raasch of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; and by Matt Pearce, Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Tina Susman of the Los Angeles Times.

A Section on 08/17/2014

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