100 arrested in day of Ferguson protests
Under the shadow of a state of emergency declaration in St. Louis County, protesters mobilized Monday for a choreographed day of civil disobedience, shutting down a key commuter artery and staging demonstrations downtown, in Clayton and in Ferguson.
More than 100 people were arrested as the protests – tied to the year-ago shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer – drew activists from across the country.
An additional 23 people were arrested Monday night and early Tuesday after police used pepper spray to clear West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson. Police said some in the crowd of protesters threw rocks and frozen water bottles at officers.
One St. Louis County police officer was hit in the chest with a small chunk of concrete, police said, but his vest protected him and he wasn’t injured. No major injuries were reported.
Police said there were no shootings, shots fired, burglaries, lootings or property damage. St. Louis County Police Officer Shawn McGuire said the county’s Tactical Operations Unit was on standby but was never used to handle the crowd. No smoke or tear gas was ever used, he said.
The day of demonstrations commenced just hours after violence marred anniversary observances over the weekend. Late Sunday, multiple gunshots fired on and near West Florissant Avenue left at least three people wounded – on top of the one injured in a shooting late Saturday.
The incidents prompted St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger on Monday afternoon to declare a state of emergency, turning oversight of the Ferguson situation over to County Police Chief Jon Belmar.
Stenger later said in an interview that he had not ruled out imposing a curfew on Ferguson, depending on events Monday night.
“The recent acts of violence will not be tolerated in a community that has worked so tirelessly over the last year to rebuild and become stronger,” Stenger said. “The time and investment in Ferguson and Dellwood will not be destroyed by a few that wish to violate the rights of others.”
Stenger’s order effectively puts county police in charge of security surrounding the protests, instead of Ferguson police.
“As we work with the St. Louis County Police, who will now assume responsibility over any protest-related incidents … we are asking for peace,” Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III said in a statement. “We want to reassure our residents and businesses that the Ferguson Police Department will continue to answer calls from our citizens.”
(Steve Giegerich, Robert Patrick, Nicholas J.C. Pistor, Joe Holleman, Lisa Brown, Valerie Schremp Hahn and Kevin McDermott, all of the Post-Dispatch, contributed to this report.)
This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 5:13 AM with the headline "100 arrested in day of Ferguson protests."