Ferguson Protesters Clash with Police
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Police in the US state of Missouri fired tear gas and smoke canisters into a crowd of people protesting against the killing last week of an unarmed black teenager by police in the town of Ferguson.
Barely hours before a second night of curfew that came into effect at midnight, police drove into the protest area in armored vehicles and shot smoke canisters at the crowd, including watching media representatives. The protest had until then appeared to be peaceful.
St Louis city police said that a Molotov cocktail had been thrown towards the police line. However, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ferguson said that the incident had not been confirmed by eyewitnesses.
Michael Brown's fatal shooting by the police on August 9 while he was walking down the street unarmed in the St Louis suburb has led to days of protests and a heavy-handed police response.
"This militarisation of the police department with a heavy-handed presence in a very small city is adding more fuel to the fire," political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson told Al Jazeera of the police crowd control tactics.
The police department in St Louis has come under strong criticism for Brown's death and its handling of the aftermath.
"Everyone we talked to said they are completely fed up with the police attitude towards the community. They say they have experienced harassment by the police several times," Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reported.
Ferguson authorities say that Brown,18, was shot after an altercation with a police officer identified as Darren Wilson.
Witnesses say the teenager was non-violent and compliant at the time of the shooting, and a victim of racism.
On Sunday, US Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a federal autopsy of Brown's body, seeking to assure the family and community there will be a thorough investigation into his death.
A preliminary private autopsy, asked for by Brown's family, found that the teenager was shot at least six times, the New York Times reported.
