St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar says the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown occurred after an altercation with police.
At a news conference Sunday morning, Belmar said a Ferguson Police officer had an exchange with two people, when one person allegedly pushed the officer back into the patrol car and assaulted him.
There was allegedly a struggle over the officer’s weapon and one shot was fired in the car. The officer then got out of the vehicle and shot at “a subject.” Belmar said the man suffered more than a couple gunshots, but “not many more than that.”
Belmar said Brown was unarmed.
The unnamed officer has been placed on paid leave and will be given a psychological evaluation before returning to work. Belmar said the officer had been with the department for six years.
The police chief said the FBI is likely to get involved as the investigation continues. A St. Louis County chapter of the NAACP urged the involvement of the bureau as “to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
“With the recent events of a young man killed by the police in New York City and with Trayvon Martin and with all the other African-American young men that have been killed by police officers … this is a dire concern to the NAACP, especially our local organization,” said John Gaskin, a member of the NAACP.
Following the shooting, protests ran through the night as community members yelled out “We are Michael Brown” and “No justice! No peace!” Dozens of police officers patrolled the area as residents expressed their anger and mourners gathered for a prayer circle.
On Sunday, approximately 200 members of the community rallied outside of the Ferguson Police Department in protest of Brown’s death.
Photo courtesy of AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Huy Mach
Ferguson is a predominantly Black suburb a few miles north of downtown St. Louis.