By Yamiche Alcindor and John Bacon, USA Today
FERGUSON, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday dropped the curfew that had been effect the last two nights in an ill-fated effort to curb the violence and chaos that has ripped the city.
A protester tries to throw tear gas back at the police in Ferguson, Mo., Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. Protests over the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer have entered their second week. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J.B. Forbes)
Nixon announced that the National Guard would assume “limited responsibilities” to help keep order during late-night protests.
“With these additional resources in place, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will continue to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness and violence, and protect the civil rights of all peaceful citizens to make their voices heard,” Nixon said in a statement. “We will not use a curfew tonight.”
Small groups of protesters gathered in a few locations Monday afternoon. Police ordered them out of some of the gathering places that have been prone to late-night upheaval. The midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew had done little to curb the violence and looting.
Nixon ordered the Guard into Ferguson hours after police cited “pre-planned” acts of aggression by protesters. Sunday night and early Monday morning, protesters shot at police, threw Molotov cocktails at officers, looted businesses and carried out a “coordinated attempt” to block roads and overrun the police’s command center, Nixon’s office said in a statement.
The predominantly black city of 21,000 on the outskirts of St. Louis has been under siege since Aug. 9, when white police officer Darren Wilson, 28, fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. Protesters have been met with a heavy police presence, resulting in fierce nightly clashes.
“We are all frustrated and looking for justice to be achieved regarding the shooting death of Michael Brown,” Nixon’s statement said. “As the dual investigations continue into what happened nine days ago at Canfield Green, we must defend Ferguson from these violent interlopers so that the peaceful protests can operate in peace and the search for answers and justice can continue.”
Earlier Monday, lawyers for Brown’s family released details of the private autopsy done at the request of the family by pathologist Michael Baden. The preliminary report indicated Brown was shot six times. Only one of the shots was fatal, Baden said.
“It verifies the worst that the family thinks happened — that he was executed,” Crump said. “It confirms what the witnesses said, that this was an execution. That’s what the witnesses said from day one.”
Wilson has his supporters — more than 100 people rallied Sunday in downtown St. Louis on his behalf. The rally was organized through social media and the Support Darren Wilson Facebook page, which was created Saturday. By noon Monday the page had drawn more than 24,000 “likes.”
Ferguson has exploded in violence several nights since the shooting. More than two hours before a second midnight curfew was set to begin Sunday night, police fired tear gas at hundreds of angry protesters who were marching down the town’s main thoroughfare toward a police command center.
“Based on the conditions, I had no alternative but to elevate the level of our response,” said Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who is in command in Ferguson. “We had to act to protect lives and property.”
At least two people were injured — including one person who was shot, Johnson said. Seven or eight people were arrested and will be charged with failure to disperse, police said.
Read the full story by Yamiche Alcindor and John Bacon, USA Today.
