Ferguson hands control of Michael Brown protests back to St Louis County

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/03/ferguson-control-protests-st-louis-county-michael-brown

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The city of Ferguson, Missouri, has handed control of the continuing protests over the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, back to the county force that oversaw intense clashes with demonstrators following the deadly police shooting.

St Louis County police will once again oversee the “security detail” assigned to the demonstrations over the killing of Michael Brown, it was announced in a statement on Friday. It said that the change was taking place at the request of Tom Jackson, Ferguson’s police chief.

“A lack of resources and manpower were the main driving force in chief Jackson’s request,” said the statement from the county force. Spokesmen for St Louis County will also take over the provision of information about the police operation.

County chiefs will lead “an effort to help restore calm to the city of Ferguson”, while allowing citizens, community leaders and members of the press to “voice their concerns freely, as guaranteed by the constitution of the United States”, the statement said.

Smaller demonstrations continued in the St Louis suburb even after the passing of the intense clashes between protesters and police that followed Brown’s shooting by Officer Darren Wilson on 9 August. The county police came under criticism for their militarised response to the demonstrations, which saw them fire teargas and rubber bullets.

Supporters of Brown’s family are demanding that Wilson be indicted on criminal charges and Bob McCulloch, the county attorney, step down from the case.

Authorities said that 13 people were arrested on Thursday night during demonstrations outside the Ferguson police station. They were accused of resisting arrest, failing to comply with police, and noise ordinance violations. Mary Moore, a freelance videographer who was filming the protest, was among those arrested.

Jackson has come under intense pressure for his handling of the crisis. Earlier this month he released a video statement apologising to Brown’s family for the police treatment of his body and to demonstrators who felt they were subjected to excessive force.

Civil rights campaigners have continued to complain about the treatment of demonstrators. Tony Rothert, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in St Louis, said his office was investigating several complaints that were lodged about Thursday’s arrests.

“There do appear to be, if not bogus, at least unnecessary arrests,” Rothert told the Associated Press. “Holding people unnecessarily long, arresting them when it’s not necessary – that’s an indication of overreach,” Rothert said. “It certainly appears that the purpose is to discourage people from coming to Ferguson to protest.”