The Latest on Ferguson: Crowd thins along West Florissant Avenue; police say

During the gunfire, Harris crossed the street and apparently spotted plainclothes officers arriving in an unmarked van with distinctive red and blue police lights, Belmar said.

Prosecutors charged Harris with four counts of first-degree assault on law enforcement, five counts of armed criminal action and one count of discharging a firearm at a motor vehicle, St. Louis County police spokesman Sgt.

At the start of the video, a crowd is seen standing in front of shops and in a parking lot before they frantically disperse, taking cover behind cars, as shots are fired. The video, according to police, “shows Harris grab a handgun out of his waistband once shots are fired during the protest”. In addition, authorities said three police officers were injured, two after being pepper-sprayed and one who was hit in the face by a rock.

Before the video’s release, the teen’s dad, also named Tyrone Harris, accused police of telling “a bunch of lies” about his son’s involvement in the shooting.

Harris is in critical condition.

County Executive Steve Stenger said the state of emergency could be lifted as soon as today, depending upon how Tuesday night unfolded.

Outrage at the deaths of Brown and a series of others killed by police in disputed circumstances have fueled the Black Lives Matter movement and a national conversation about racism and police tactics.

The tumultuous scene on Ferguson’s streets, with mostly black protesters clashing with police equipped in riot gear, was further complicated by the appearance of a new group, white militiamen calling themselves Oath Keepers and wearing bulletproof vests and carrying rifles and pistols. And each time protesters left the sidewalk for the street, police converged.

Stenger’s executive order on Monday handed over policing duties in Ferguson to St. Louis County police.

“I don’t condone violence, but I don’t condemn it either”.

“It makes a difference”.

“Officers are being hit with rocks and bottles”. Miller added that the latest protests were dying down without much being accomplished. A separate Justice Department report found that the police department in Ferguson routinely violated the rights of black citizens, who make up two-thirds of the city’s population.

Police say they wouldn’t normally release the video but they hope it will ease doubts, like those expressed by Harris’ parents.

Even when armed members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government activist group whose presence Belmar has called “both unnecessary and inflammatory”, appeared, there was little conflict.

Peaceful marches in the St. Louis suburb planned by day on Sunday were shattered that same night when gunfire broke out, sending protesters and police scattering to safety.