Anger Boils Over in U.S. City:
More Troops Called to Crush Unrest
FERGUSON, Mo. (Dispatches) — The National Guard arrived in Ferguson but kept its distance from the streets where protesters clashed again with police, as clouds of tear gas and smoke hung over the St. Louis suburb where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer.
Protesters filled the streets after nightfall, and officers trying to enforce tighter restrictions at times used bullhorns to order them to disperse. Police deployed noisemakers and armored vehicles to push demonstrators back. Officers fired tear gas and flash grenades.
Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who is in charge of security in Ferguson, said bottles and Molotov cocktails were thrown from the crowd and that some officers had come under heavy gunfire. At least two people were shot and 31 were arrested, he said. He did not have condition updates on those who were shot. Johnson said four officers were injured by rocks or bottles.
Demonstrators no longer faced the neighborhood's midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew, but police told protesters that they could not assemble in a single spot and had to keep moving. After the streets had been mostly cleared, 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. Two German reporters were arrested and detained for three hours
The latest clashes came after a day in which a pathologist hired by the Brown family said the unarmed black 18-year-old suffered a bullet wound to his right arm that may indicate his hands were up or his back was turned.
Witnesses have said Brown's hands were above his head when he was repeatedly shot by an officer Aug. 9.
The independent autopsy determined that Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, the family's lawyers and hired pathologists said.
A grand jury could begin hearing evidence Wednesday to determine whether the officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged in Brown's death, said Ed Magee, spokesman for St. Louis County's prosecuting attorney.
In Washington, President Barack Obama said the vast majority of protesters in Ferguson were peaceful, but warned that a small minority was undermining justice.
Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump said Brown's parents wanted the additional autopsy because they feared results of the county's examination could be biased. Crump declined to release copies of the report.
Meanwhile, the extremely militaristic police response to the protests in Ferguson has shocked many Americans.
In its tactics, appearance, and especially equipment, the security operation looks more like it belongs on a battlefield in Iraq or Afghanistan than in the streets of an American suburb. Armored vehicles, tear gas, full combat gear, rifles.
From LRADs to MRAPs, here's a brief guide to the equipment being used against civilians in the St. Louis suburb.
The LRAD, or Long Range Acoustic Device, is basically a sound cannon: it has the ability to send loud, targeted bursts of sound designed to disperse military targets, pirates, and crowds. They are not just noisy. The sound they emit is powerful enough to cause severe physical pain and headaches to those in range. According to an executive at the firm that manufactures LRADs, the devices can also cause permanent hearing loss if used in anything more than short bursts.
LRADs look like large satellite dishes and are typically mounted on top of trucks.
MRAPs are armored vehicles originally built for military use in war zones. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, or MRAPs, are heavily armored trucks designed to withstand the detonation of land mines or IEDs. They were first deployed by the U.S. military in 2007, designed specifically for use in Iraq, where highly developed IEDs were being used against American forces. Now the vehicles are being passed down to police departments.
Asked why MRAPS were being used in Ferguson, a place with neither land mines nor IEDs, Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson replied that "people are using bombs now". However, there have been no reports of bombs being used in Ferguson.
The officers on the streets in Ferguson have deployed wearing body armor, including gas masks and visors, prompting a number of military veterans to point out that the police are wearing more protective gear to confront protesters than actual soldiers typically wear while on patrol in active war zones.
Former Seattle police chief Norman Stamper warned that when police dress in military uniforms, they contribute to an atmosphere of hostility that can actually escalate the risk of violence, rather than suppress it.
"Keeping the peace at a demonstration essentially means having police officers in standard everyday uniforms, not military garb," Stamper said. Otherwise, they can come to "view the community as the enemy. In the process they become an occupational force where they are in charge — in the name of control, in the name of public safety, taking actions that actually undermine legitimate control."
The police in Ferguson are armed with rifles, which former Marine Paul Szoldra described in Business Insider as "short-barreled 5.56 mm rifles based on the military M4 Carbine". Numerous reports from Ferguson indicate that the rifles are frequently pointed at people who pose no immediate threat, as a way to intimidate civilians into compliance with police orders.
The use of the rifles prompted further criticism from military veterans, who pointed out that the police were using them in a way that was likely to aggravate hostilities, rather than calming the situation.
Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who is in charge of security in Ferguson, said bottles and Molotov cocktails were thrown from the crowd and that some officers had come under heavy gunfire. At least two people were shot and 31 were arrested, he said. He did not have condition updates on those who were shot. Johnson said four officers were injured by rocks or bottles.
Demonstrators no longer faced the neighborhood's midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew, but police told protesters that they could not assemble in a single spot and had to keep moving. After the streets had been mostly cleared, 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. Two German reporters were arrested and detained for three hours
The latest clashes came after a day in which a pathologist hired by the Brown family said the unarmed black 18-year-old suffered a bullet wound to his right arm that may indicate his hands were up or his back was turned.
Witnesses have said Brown's hands were above his head when he was repeatedly shot by an officer Aug. 9.
The independent autopsy determined that Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, the family's lawyers and hired pathologists said.
A grand jury could begin hearing evidence Wednesday to determine whether the officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged in Brown's death, said Ed Magee, spokesman for St. Louis County's prosecuting attorney.
In Washington, President Barack Obama said the vast majority of protesters in Ferguson were peaceful, but warned that a small minority was undermining justice.
Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump said Brown's parents wanted the additional autopsy because they feared results of the county's examination could be biased. Crump declined to release copies of the report.
Meanwhile, the extremely militaristic police response to the protests in Ferguson has shocked many Americans.
In its tactics, appearance, and especially equipment, the security operation looks more like it belongs on a battlefield in Iraq or Afghanistan than in the streets of an American suburb. Armored vehicles, tear gas, full combat gear, rifles.
From LRADs to MRAPs, here's a brief guide to the equipment being used against civilians in the St. Louis suburb.
The LRAD, or Long Range Acoustic Device, is basically a sound cannon: it has the ability to send loud, targeted bursts of sound designed to disperse military targets, pirates, and crowds. They are not just noisy. The sound they emit is powerful enough to cause severe physical pain and headaches to those in range. According to an executive at the firm that manufactures LRADs, the devices can also cause permanent hearing loss if used in anything more than short bursts.
LRADs look like large satellite dishes and are typically mounted on top of trucks.
MRAPs are armored vehicles originally built for military use in war zones. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, or MRAPs, are heavily armored trucks designed to withstand the detonation of land mines or IEDs. They were first deployed by the U.S. military in 2007, designed specifically for use in Iraq, where highly developed IEDs were being used against American forces. Now the vehicles are being passed down to police departments.
Asked why MRAPS were being used in Ferguson, a place with neither land mines nor IEDs, Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson replied that "people are using bombs now". However, there have been no reports of bombs being used in Ferguson.
The officers on the streets in Ferguson have deployed wearing body armor, including gas masks and visors, prompting a number of military veterans to point out that the police are wearing more protective gear to confront protesters than actual soldiers typically wear while on patrol in active war zones.
Former Seattle police chief Norman Stamper warned that when police dress in military uniforms, they contribute to an atmosphere of hostility that can actually escalate the risk of violence, rather than suppress it.
"Keeping the peace at a demonstration essentially means having police officers in standard everyday uniforms, not military garb," Stamper said. Otherwise, they can come to "view the community as the enemy. In the process they become an occupational force where they are in charge — in the name of control, in the name of public safety, taking actions that actually undermine legitimate control."
The police in Ferguson are armed with rifles, which former Marine Paul Szoldra described in Business Insider as "short-barreled 5.56 mm rifles based on the military M4 Carbine". Numerous reports from Ferguson indicate that the rifles are frequently pointed at people who pose no immediate threat, as a way to intimidate civilians into compliance with police orders.
The use of the rifles prompted further criticism from military veterans, who pointed out that the police were using them in a way that was likely to aggravate hostilities, rather than calming the situation.