Police Shot Black St. Louis Teen in the Back

The fatal police shooting of a Black teenager in St. Louis Wednesday sparked more protests in a city already plagued with racial tension due last year’s killing of Michael Brown, Jr. The gun Ball-Bey pointed at officers was one of several stolen firearms recovered at the scene, along with crack cocaine, said St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson.

” ‘Just because he was shot in the back doesn’t mean he was running away, ‘ Dotson said”.

A Force Investigation Unit that reviews all police killings in St. Louis is now reviewing the case. St. Louis Alderman Antonio French posted images on his Twitter page of people at the vigil holding candles, hugging and making buttons that call for unity in the community.

He called the death of the young man who was shot by police a “tragedy” but said “it’s not easy” for police members who have “difficult” jobs. Images of heavily armed police aiming weapons at citizens prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to tighten restrictions on police use of military equipment.

Jermaine Wooten, a lawyer for Ball-Bey’s family, said witnesses have told him that Ball-Bey did not have a gun.

The above audio feature Dotson speaking to the press on Friday afternoon.

They had a tow truck take the auto away. “If Mansur had been turned around facing the officer pointing a weapon at him he should have sustained injuries from the front and not from the back”.

Officers serving a search warrant in a crime-ridden neighborhood encountered two men fleeing from the home.

The search warrant that police came to serve was for guns and narcotics involved in a felony. Police said that some people threw rocks, bricks and water bottles at them, and officers tear-gassed the area.

“I join everyone here praying for peace and calm tonight”, Dotson said.

Police are searching for the second suspect, who they said is believed to be in his mid- to late teens.

A black 18-year-old killed by police in St Louis earlier this week was shot in the back, authorities said on Friday, adding weight to protests that have challenged the official account of his death. He discussed protests since the shooting of Mansur Ball-Bey.

“Speaking with every witness on the scene, no one confirms he had the gun”. Of those arrested for serious crimes overall, including murder, aggravated assault and larceny, more than 82 percent of those arrested were black, compared to 17.5 percent who were white. “That’s the take we’re getting from everything”.

Harris’s father has said his son did not have a gun. Since it doesn’t say “unarmed teen suspect”, we can infer that the suspect was a criminal who tried to kill the cops. “To be Downtown. To be visible”.

Dotson said he met with Gov. Jay Nixon and the head of the highway patrol but has not asked for state assistance.

“They don’t want to get shot by the police”.

“This was an area we needed to be focusing in”, Dotson said. “It appears he would have been shot from the back”.

An attorney for Myers’ family has insisted he was unarmed and Flanery planted the gun near Myers’ body. Chanting “Black Lives Matter”, they questioned the police use of deadly force.