The FBI has launched a civil rights probe into the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a suburban St. Louis cop.
The agency announced it was investigating the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown a day after what was supposed to be a peaceful candlelight vigil turned into a night of mayhem and looting.
Nearly three dozen people were arrested after an angry crowd looted and burned stores, vandalized vehicles and taunted police officers in Ferguson, Mo. And on Monday, a second night of unrest saw dozens of people again protesting, with police in riot gear firing tear gas and rubber bullets as officers tried to clear the streets of people still reeling from the shooting.
A member of Brown’s family denounced the lawlessness.
“I just want everyone to know and understand that the stealing and breaking in stores is not what Mike will want, it is very upsetting to me and my family,” an unidentified cousin said in a statement released to KTVI television. “Our family didn’t ask for this, but for Justice and Peace.”
Chief Jon Belmar of the St. Louis County Police, which is leading the investigation, also called for calm.
“I understand that the public has a right to be skeptical,’ he said. “But I would also ask the public to be reasonable because it takes a long time to make sure we do this investigation the right way.”
Belmar also announced that the autopsy showed that Brown had been “struck several times by gunfire” but declined to identify the officer who shot him.
The chief said only that he was a six-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave.
Cheryl Mimura, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s St. Louis field office, insisted the anger in the streets played no role in their decision to investigate. She said Brown’s death was already on their radar.
The U.S. Department of Justice is also monitoring a case that Brown supporters have likened to that of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen who was killed by a security guard in an Orlando, Fla.-area housing development.
Brown was also walking home from a convenience store when he was killed Saturday.
His buddy Dorian Johnson told WALB-TV a police officer pulled up in a cruiser and told them to get out of the street and to walk on the sidewalk.
Johnson said they kept walking, so the officer pulled up, got out of the car, and started shooting. He said they took off running.
“Once my friend felt that shot, he turned around and put his hands in the air and he started to get down,” Johnson said. “But the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and fired several more shots.”
Johnson insisted they did nothing wrong.
“We wasn’t causing harm to nobody,” he told the TV station. “We had no weapons on us at all.”
Balmer declined to discuss Johnson’s account. But previously the chief said the officer opened fire after one of the men pushed him into his squad car.
“It is our understanding at this point in the investigation, that within the police car, there was a struggle over the officer’s weapon,” Balmer said.
Meanwhile, police set up road blocks to keep gawkers away from the looted stores.
“Right now, the small group of people (is) creating a huge mess,” Mayor James Knowles told local TV. “Contributing to the unrest that is going on is not going to help … We’re only hurting ourselves, only hurting our community, hurting our neighbors. There’s nothing productive from this.”
With News Wire Services
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