Ferguson police officer shot; suspect still at large
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Version 0 of 1. As nightly protests continue in Ferguson, Mo., two police officers were fired at Saturday night in separate incidents unrelated to the protests. According to police, a male Ferguson officer was shot in the arm during a routine patrol stop about 9 p.m.. The officer was conducting a business check at the Ferguson Community Center when he found a man near the back of the building, police said. When the officer got out of his vehicle, the man ran, prompting a foot chase. “During the foot pursuit, the suspect spun toward the officer armed with a handgun and fired shots at the officer,” the St. Louis County police department said in a statement released by spokesman Brian Schellman. “The officer was struck in his left arm with one round.” The officer, who was later hospitalized and treated for the injury, returned fire, but as of 9 a.m. Sunday the suspect remained at large. Hours after the first incident, just after midnight, an off-duty St. Louis City police officer who was driving on the freeway in his personal vehicle came under fire from three men who police say pulled up alongside him. “The officer’s vehicle was struck numerous times, however it does not appear the officer suffered any gunshot wounds,” Schellman said in the statement. Neither shooting is believed to be related to ongoing protests over the Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, police said. Initial reports and rumors on the ground following Saturday night’s shooting included speculation that a suspect had been shot and that an officer had been killed, igniting tension and prompting State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson to break up an animated protest taking place outside the police station. “Tensions are very high right now,” said state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, during an interview with MSNBC on Sunday morning. “We’re still in a state of chaos right now in Ferguson.” The shooting of Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson has reignited long-held skepticism toward law enforcement held by many in greater St. Louis and has thrust the country into a renewed dialogue about how minority communities are policed. While police said neither incident this weekend is believed to be related to the ongoing protests, law enforcement officials have said consistently that their officers have been threatened during the weeks since the shooting. Johnson and Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson have both previously told The Post about instances since Brown’s death that in which their officers have come under gunfire. On Thursday, Jackson released a four-minute video apology to Brown’s family. That evening, he walked outside to meet with protesters outside the department and attempted to march with them. Neither action was well-received. In an interview Saturday with The Post, the Brown family said they have not watched the video apology, and Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, described Jackson and the Ferguson police’s handling of the shooting as “incompetent.” |