Ferguson cops again anger victim's family
But it's calm, thanks to new approach
FERGUSON, Mo.
- Police breaking a weeklong silence and revealing the name of the officer involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager was supposed to be a step toward healing a fractured community.
Instead, the decision by Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson to accompany the release of the officer's name with a police report alleging that the teenager took part in a robbery shortly before the shooting sparked more outrage in the St. Louis suburb.
That outrage grew later in the day after Jackson admitted the officer - Darren Wilson, 28 - was not aware that Michael Brown was a robbery suspect at the time of the shooting. He stopped him and a companion, Jackson said, "because they were walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic."
The release of the information drew a quick rebuke from Brown's family, who called it an attempt to divert attention from the killing.
"The family feels that was strategic," Anthony Gray, a lawyer for Brown's family, said during a news conference yesterday. "They feel it was aimed at denigrating their son. It was an attempt at character assassination."
Jackson denied the family's allegations, saying he decided to release the report and accompanying surveillance video because "I had to. Too many people put in [Freedom of Information] requests for it."
After five days of violence, with heavily armed police using tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters, calm finally has prevailed. Police changed their tactics under the command of Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, abandoning military-style gear and focusing on mingling with protesters and giving them space to demonstrate.
Johnson, who grew up in the community, was put in charge Thursday by Gov. Jay Nixon in an attempt to calm the situation on the streets of Ferguson.
"This inner anger, we have to make sure we don't burn down our own house," Johnson said. "That doesn't prove a point. That does not solve the issue. That hurts this community, and that's what I don't want."
According to the records released yesterday, police received a 9-1-1 call of a robbery at Ferguson Market. An officer dispatched to the scene described a man who stole cigars and fled with another man.
Stolen was a box of Swisher Sweets Cigars valued at $48.99, according to reports. The suspects were identified as Brown, 18, and Dorian Johnson, 22.
Wilson encountered Michael Brown walking down Canfield Drive. The documents contained no description of what happened between Brown and Wilson, and investigators have refused to release that information.
But within minutes of their encounter, Wilson shot and killed Brown. Police have said Brown struggled with Wilson in his car and that the officer suffered injuries. Several eyewitnesses said Brown was shot while retreating with his hands raised.