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Ferguson unrest: police officer injured in shooting as violence flares again Two suspects sought after shooting of Ferguson police officer
(about 9 hours later)
A police officer has been shot and injured after violence flared again in the strife-hit American city of Ferguson, Missouri. Authorities were searching on Sunday for two men suspected of shooting and wounding a police officer in Ferguson, the St Louis suburb where there have been angry protests since a white officer fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old black man, Michael Brown, last month.
St Louis county police say an officer was shot after encountering two suspects at a community centre who fired at him during a foot chase. Although there were two separate protests about the 9 August shooting of Brown happening around the time the officer was shot on Saturday night, St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said he didn’t think they were related in any way to the attack on the officer.
County police chief Jon Belmar said the officer was shot in the arm and is expected to survive. Belmar did not identify the officer or give further details about his condition. The men fled when the officer approached them at around 9pm because the community center they were standing outside of was closed, Belmar said at a news conference early on Sunday. When the officer gave chase, one of the men turned and shot him in the arm, he said.
He says that the officer fired shots in return but that police have no indication that either suspect was shot. Belmar said the officer is expected to survive, but he didn’t identify the officer or give further details about his condition. He said the officer returned fire, but that police have no indication that either suspect was shot.
A search was underway for the suspects early Sunday. The shooting comes amid simmering tension between many community members and the police in Ferguson, where two-thirds of residents are black, but only three of the city’s 53 officers are African-American.
The incident came as President Barack Obama said the mistrust of law enforcement that was exposed after the shooting has a corrosive effect on all of America, not just on black communities, and it flows from significant racial disparities in the administration of justice. At around midnight on Saturday, about two dozen officers stood near a group of about 100 protesters who mingled on a street corner, occasionally shouting, “No justice, no peace.” Meanwhile, police had closed part of a nearby street as helicopters and officers from several law enforcement agencies searched the area for the two suspects.
Speaking Saturday night at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual awards dinner in Washington, Obama said these suspicions harm communities that need law enforcement the most. Earlier on Saturday, Brown’s parents told the Associated Press they were unmoved by a videotaped apology released days earlier by Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson, whose attempt to march with protesters on Thursday sparked a clash that led to several arrests.
“It makes folks who are victimised by crime and need strong policing reluctant to go to the police because they may not trust them,” he said. “And the worst part of it is, it scars the hearts of our children.” When asked if Jackson should be fired, Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, said he should be. Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr, said rather than an apology, they would like Darren Wilson, the officer who shot their son, to be arrested. A county grand jury is weighing whether to indict Wilson in Brown’s shooting.
Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis, saw days of racially charged protests after black teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by white police officer Darren Wilson on 9 August. The Justice Department, which is investigating whether Brown’s civil rights were violated, is conducting a broader probe into the Ferguson police department. On Friday, it urged Jackson to ban his officers from wearing bracelets supporting Wilson while on duty and from covering up their name plates with black tape.
There have been renewed protests after Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson issued a video apology to Brown’s parents on Thursday following weeks of heavy criticism and calls for his removal. Ferguson residents complained about the bracelets, which are black with “I am Darren Wilson” in white lettering, at a meeting with federal officials this week.
The apology was not well-received among some and led to reported protests hours after it was issued. Also early on Sunday, not far from Ferguson, an off-duty St Louis city police officer was injured on Interstate 70 when three suspects fired shots into his personal vehicle, a police spokeswoman said.
Brown’s parents told Associated Press on Saturday that they were unmoved by the apology. Schron Jackson said the officer, who has nearly 20 years of experience, was being treated at a hospital for a minor injury to his arm from broken glass. She said there was no reason to believe the two shootings were related.
Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, said, “yes,” when asked if Tom Jackson should be fired, and his father, Michael Brown Sr, said they wanted to see the officer who shot their son arrested.
“An apology would be when Darren Wilson has handcuffs, processed and charged with murder,” Brown Sr said.
There have been bursts of violence during weeks of protests in Ferguson, a mostly black community of 21,000, since Brown’s death.
Many have called for Jackson to be fired for what they saw as a heavy-handed response in the aftermath of the killing.