Stay in at night, Ferguson urges

Leaders pledge outreach to city’s blacks; streets fill as dark falls

Police watch as protesters march Tuesday in Ferguson, Mo., for Michael Brown, killed there Aug. 9.

Police watch as protesters march Tuesday in Ferguson, Mo., for Michael Brown, killed there Aug. 9.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Ferguson's leaders urged residents Tuesday to stay home after dark to "allow peace to settle in" and pledged several actions to reconnect with the predominantly black community in the St. Louis suburb where the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown has sparked nightly clashes between protesters and police.

According to a statement from the city, Ferguson's mayor, City Council and other employees have been exploring how to increase the number of black applicants to the law enforcement academy, develop incentive programs to encourage city residency for police officers and to raise funds for cameras that would be attached to patrol car dashboards and officers' vests.

"We plan to learn from this tragedy, as we further provide for the safety of our residents and businesses and progress our community through reconciliation and healing," the leaders said in the statement Tuesday.

After sundown Tuesday, the streets of Ferguson filled once more with protesters, but there were no immediate reports of any clashes with police, who stood by with batons and gas masks.

Also Tuesday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said he would not seek the removal of the prosecutor overseeing the county's investigation into the shooting.

St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch's family connections to police have been cited by some black leaders who question his ability to be impartial. McCulloch's father, mother, brother, uncle and cousin all worked for the St. Louis Police Department.

Nixon said he would not ask McCulloch to leave the case, citing the "well-established process" by which prosecutors can recuse themselves from pending investigations to make way for a special prosecutor.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Brown's family, said the funeral and memorial service for the teen, who died days before he was to enter college, will be Monday, though the time and location hadn't been finalized.

Protesters had filled the streets Monday night, and officers trying to enforce tighter restrictions at times used bullhorns to order them to disperse. Officers also fired tear gas and flash grenades.

Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who is in charge of security in Ferguson, said bottles and Molotov cocktails were thrown from the crowd Monday night and that some officers had come under heavy gunfire. At least two people were shot, he said, but he did not have condition updates on them. Johnson said four officers were injured by rocks or bottles.

After the streets had been mostly cleared Monday night, authorities ordered reporters to leave as well, citing the risk from the reported gunfire.

A photographer for Getty Images was arrested while covering the demonstrations and later released. Also, German newspaper Die Welt said correspondent Ansgar Graw and reporter Frank Herrmann, who writes for German regional papers, were arrested after being accused of failing to follow police instructions to vacate an empty street. They said they followed orders.

Johnson said members of the media had to be asked repeatedly to return to the sidewalks and that it was a matter of safety. He said in some cases it was not immediately clear who was a reporter but that once it was established, police acted properly.

At least 10 journalists have reported being arrested or detained since Brown was killed Aug. 9.

A St. Louis County spokesman said Tuesday that 57 people were booked at the county jail overnight. Candace Jarrett said that did not include any people taken to municipal jails elsewhere in the region.

Police originally said 31 arrests were made Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Just four of the 57 arrested had Ferguson addresses, police said. Fifty-four were cited for failure to disperse, two for unlawful use of a weapon, and one for interfering with an officer. Sixteen of those arrested were from out-of state.

A large crowd also gathered Tuesday afternoon in nearby St. Louis after officers responding to a report of a store robbery shot and killed a knife-wielding man. Police Chief Sam Dotson said the suspect acted erratically and told responding officers to "shoot me now, kill me now."

St. Louis Police Capt. Ed Kuntz said the man raised a weapon and moved toward two officers. Both then opened fire, killing him. The officers were placed on administrative duty pending an investigation, but Kuntz said the shooting appeared to be justified.

Some members of the St. Louis crowd on Tuesday shouted, "Hands up, don't shoot," a phrase that has become a frequent part of protests since Brown's death in Ferguson. Like Brown, the 23-year-old man killed Tuesday, was black.

Monday's violence began after an independent autopsy determined Brown may have been shot while raising his arms or turning away from the officer who shot him. He was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, the family's lawyers and pathologists said.

The St. Louis County medical examiner's autopsy found that Brown was shot six to eight times in the head and chest, office administrator Suzanne McCune said Monday. But she said the full findings were not expected for about two weeks.

A third autopsy was performed Monday for the Justice Department by one of the military's most experienced medical examiners, Attorney General Eric Holder said. Holder plans to travel to Ferguson this week to meet with FBI and other officials carrying out an independent federal investigation into Brown's death.

A grand jury could begin hearing evidence today to determine whether Darren Wilson, the officer who shot Brown, should be charged in the death, said Ed Magee, spokesman for St. Louis County's prosecuting attorney.

Information for this article was contributed by Alan Scher Zagier, Jim Salter, David A. Lieb and staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 08/20/2014

26533112