Killing of Michael Brown

Shooting of Michael Brown

Location of Ferguson, Missouri within St. Louis County and St. Louis County within Missouri
Date	Saturday, August 9, 2014 (2014-08-09)
Time	12:01 to 12:04 p.m.
Location	Ferguson, Missouri, United States
Coordinates	38.7380246°N 90.2720729°W / 38.7380246; -90.2720729
Participants	Darren Wilson (shooter) Michael Brown (victim) Dorian Johnson (accompanied Brown)
Deaths	Michael Brown

The shooting death of Michael Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, United States, a suburb of St. Louis. Brown, an 18-year-old African-American man, died after being shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, 28, who is white. Brown was unarmed and had no criminal record. According to Ferguson police, Brown was a suspect in a robbery committed minutes before the shooting, although the initial contact between Wilson and Brown was unrelated to the robbery. Wilson has served four years with the Ferguson Police Department and two years with another local police department. He had no disciplinary history.

As of August 17, 2014, authorities have yet to release detailed information as to how Brown was shot and killed, or even how many bullets were fired or bullet wounds sustained.

The incident sparked demonstrations and unrest in Ferguson including peaceful protests, vandalism, and other forms of social unrest that continued for more than a week. Widespread media coverage examined the trend of local police departments arming themselves with "military-grade weapons" and responding in a military fashion when dealing with protesting civilians and journalists covering volatile current events.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a civil rights investigation of the shooting. U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement expressing condolences to Brown's family and committed the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an investigation.

On August 16, after the police were criticized for "standing down" rather than acting to impede looters who inflicted substantial losses on several Ferguson businesses, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and implemented nightly curfews in Ferguson from midnight to 5:00 a.m.

Parties involved

Michael Brown

Michael Brown
Died	(2014-08-09)August 9, 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, U.S.

Michael Brown (d. August 9, 2014) was the son of Lesley McSpadden and Mike Brown, Sr. Brown graduated from Normandy High School in St. Louis on August 1, 2014 after completing an alternative learning program. The St. Louis Dispatch reported that, according to his teachers, he was "a student who loomed large and didn't cause trouble", and referred to him as a "gentle giant".

Brown was to have started attending Vatterott College, a technical school, on August 11, two days after he was killed. According to Benjamin Crump, the lawyer representing the Brown family, he wanted to become a heating and cooling engineer. A friend of Brown said, that while everybody else wanted to be a basketball or football player, Brown wanted to own his own business.

Brown was an amateur rapper, calling himself Big’Mike when posting online solo and duet tracks in the hard-driving trap hip hop style.

Darren Wilson

Darren Wilson
Occupation	Police officer
Employer	Ferguson Police Department

Darren Wilson lived in Crestwood, Missouri, a city of 11,000 people about 18 miles southwest of Ferguson. He was 28 years old at the time of the shooting.

On August 16, Yahoo News published a photo of Darren Wilson from February, in which he was seen receiving a commendation or "extraordinary effort in the line of duty". His name was released by Ferguson police one week after the shooting incident, but not his photo.

Shooting incident

See also: Timeline of the shooting of Michael Brown

On August 9, at around 12:00 p.m., Brown and friend Dorian Johnson were walking to Brown's grandmother's house after the robbery and assault Brown is suspected of committed at the convenience store . Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson drove up to them and ordered them to move off the street and onto the sidewalk. An altercation ensued and a shot was fired from within Wilson's police vehicle, after which Brown and Johnson began to flee.. Wilson left his vehicle and pursued them, then fired an unspecified number of shots, fatally wounding Brown. Brown died approximately 35 feet (11 m) from the police cruiser in the 2900 block of Canfield Drive. According to CNN correspondent Ana Cabrera, documents show that less than three minutes passed from the time that Wilson encountered Brown to the time of Brown's death.

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson announced the name of the officer involved in the shooting in a news conference the morning of Friday, August 15, nearly a week after the officer shot Brown on Saturday afternoon. Jackson prefaced the name announcement by describing a "strong-arm" robbery that had occurred a few minutes before the shooting at a nearby convenience store. A police report released to members of the media at the news conference described Brown as the suspect involved in the robbery.

Hours later, Mr. Jackson held another news conference in which he said Mr. Wilson wasn't aware of the robbery when he stopped Mr. Brown.

Then Jackson appeared to change his story again, telling NBC News that while the officer who shot Brown initially stopped him for walking in the street and blocking traffic, “at some point” during the encounter the officer saw cigars in Brown’s hands and thought he might be a suspect in the robbery.

Witness accounts

Dorian Johnson's account

According to Michael Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson, who was walking with Brown at the time and who is seen with Brown on surveillance video of the store where Brown is suspected of committing robbery and assault, the police officer pulled up beside them and said, "Get the fuck on the sidewalk." Johnson said the young men replied that they were "not but a minute away from [their] destination, and [they] would shortly be out of the street."

Without saying anything further, Johnson states that the officer drove forward, only to abruptly back up, positioning his vehicle crossways in their path, almost hitting the two men. Said Johnson, "We were so close, almost inches away, that when he tried to open his door aggressively, the door ricocheted both off me and Big Mike's body and closed back on the officer."

At that point, the officer, still in his car, grabbed Brown through the open window around the neck. Brown tried to pull away, but the officer continued to pull Brown toward him.

According to Johnson, Brown "did not reach for the officer's weapon at all," insisting that Brown was attempting to get free of the officer rather than attempting to attack him or take his weapon from him.

At that point, according to Johnson, the officer drew his weapon, and "he said, 'I'll shoot you' or 'I'm going to shoot,'" and almost instantaneously fired his weapon, hitting Brown.

Following the initial gunshot, Johnson said that Brown was able to free himself, at which point the two fled for their lives. The officer exited the vehicle, after which he fired a second shot, striking Brown in the back. At that point, according to Johnson, Brown turned around with his hands in the air and said, "I don't have a gun. Stop shooting!" The officer then shot Brown several more times, killing him. Johnson's attorney stated that the officer did not attempt to resuscitate Brown, did not call for medical help, and did not call the shooting in.

Piaget Crenshaw's account

Another witness, Piaget Crenshaw, said that from her vantage point, it appeared that the police officer and Brown were arm wrestling before the officer initially shot Brown from within his vehicle. The officer then chased Brown for about 20 feet before shooting him again. According to Crenshaw, when Brown then raised his arms in compliance, the officer shot him two more times, killing him.

Police account

In a news conference on August 10, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar stated, "The genesis of this shooting incident was a physical confrontation" during which Brown "physically assaulted the police officer." According to Belmar, the officer attempted to exit his vehicle but was pushed back into the car by Brown, who then assaulted the officer inside the car. Brown then allegedly attempted to seize the officer's gun, which was fired at least once during the struggle. Belmar acknowledged that "more than a couple" of shots were fired in the course of the encounter.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson later stated that the officer who shot Brown was injured in the incident. The Ferguson City Police Department had declined to identify the officer involved in the shooting, who had been placed on administrative leave, but released Officer Wilson's name on August 15, 2014. Dashboard cameras are not used in Ferguson police cars.

Tiffany Mitchell's account

Witness Tiffany Mitchell, in an interview with St. Louis television news station KMOV, said she arrived in the area near the beginning of the altercation. She stated that she was watching as the first gun shot was fired while the police officer, but not Brown, was still in the vehicle, at which point she attempted to retrieve her cell phone in order to film the unfolding event, but stopped and sought cover when she heard gunshots.

As Mitchell described events, "After the shot, the kid just breaks away. The cop follows him, kept shooting, the kid's body jerked as if he was hit. After his body jerked he turns around, puts his hands up, and the cop continues to walk up on him and continues to shoot until he goes all the way down."

Unidentified bystander

Some conservative publications have suggested that an as-yet-unidentified bystander heard speaking in the background of a video filmed shortly after the shooting appears to confirm the police account. According to the Daily Caller, the unidentified bystander can be heard saying "“I think…dude start running, kept coming toward the police,” which the Daily Caller suggests contradicts other witnesses' accounts. The finding of the video was first reported by The Conservative Threehouse blog, and reported by The Daily Caller, and Breitbart.

Investigations

On August 10, Jon Belmar, chief of the St. Louis County Police Department, announced that their department would be in charge of the investigation, after receiving a request from Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson to investigate the shooting. The Ferguson Police department initially declined to name the officer involved in the shooting, citing concerns for his safety, and refused to commit to a deadline for releasing a full autopsy report.. When the investigation is complete, the St. Louis County police will turn over the case to St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch, the official charged with determining if state charges will be filed. County Executive Charlie Dooley called for a special prosecutor, arguing that McCulloch is "biased and shouldn't handle the case". Democratic politicians argued that the investigation should be conducted by a higher authority than the local prosecutor officer, because of a poor history of prosecuting law enforcement officers in controversial cases, and argued that McCulloch should withdraw.

On August 11, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a parallel civil rights investigation into the incident, and United States Attorney General Eric Holder instructed the Justice Department's staff to monitor the developments. According to the spokeswoman for the FBI's St. Louis field office, the protests and riots played no role in the FBI's decision to investigate. On August 13, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Richard G. Callahan announced a civil rights investigation into the case. On August 17, Attorney General Holder authorized a second autopsy of Brown by a federal medical examiner. A spokesman for the Justice Department said that Holder authorized the second autopsy of Michael Brown to ensure objectivity, citing "the extraordinary circumstances involved in this case" and a request by the Brown family.

On August 16, Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson said there were 40 FBI agents going door-to-door looking for potential witnesses that may have information about the shooting. Additionally, the Justice Department confirmed that attorneys from its Civil Rights Division and from the United States Attorney's Office were participating in the investigation.

Robbery incident report

According to information released by the Ferguson Police Department on August 15, Brown and Dorian Johnson were suspects in a "strong-arm robbery" of a convenience store. Under Missouri law, a "strong-arm robbery" is a robbery in which physical force is used. The report stated that the convenience store's surveillance footage (which was also released) showed Brown grabbing a box of Swisher Sweet cigars, followed by an "apparent struggle or confrontation" between Brown and a store clerk. According to police chief Jackson, a 911 call was received at 11:51am, and after a description of the robbers was communicated by dispatchers, officer Darren Wilson encountered Brown and Johnson at 12:01 pm. At an afternoon press conference on August 15, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson confirmed that "the initial contact with Brown was not related to the robbery". He also stated that the officer was unaware that Brown was a suspect in the robbery and that Brown and Johnson had been stopped for blocking traffic.

Freeman Bosley, the attorney for Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown at the time, confirmed that they had in fact entered the store and cigarillos were taken, and that Johnson had informed the FBI, DOJ, and St. Louis County Police of this fact. In previous interviews, however, Johnson described the events of the shooting but did not mention that he and Brown had been in a convenience store just before, or that Brown had stolen anything. Police Chief Jackson said that Johnson would not be charged in the alleged robbery stating that they had determined he didn't steal anything or use force.

On August 15, police released other details of the robbery incident (Ferguson Police Offense/Incident Report: "complaint No. 12-12388") and the shooting incident ("Ferguson Police Report #2014-12391" and "St Louis County Police Report #2014-043984") in a packet of materials. Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson also released the name of the police officer who shot Brown, identifying him as Darren Wilson, a six-year veteran of the department, who lived in Crestwood, Missouri.

When asked why the police department released the report and video about the alleged robbery when it was unrelated to the shooting, Jackson said "because the press asked for it," adding that he decided to do so in response to a large number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. When he was asked about Wilson, Jackson called him "a gentleman" and "a quiet officer," and said that he "never meant for this to happen." Ronald Johnson, the Highway Patrol Captain put in charge of policing Ferguson, was not informed before the release of the robbery report, and said “I would have liked to have been consulted”. The Department of Justice had urged the tape not be released, arguing a release would inflame tensions.

This was the first time the police provided details on the alleged robbery, but they did not provide any additional information regarding the confrontation or why Brown was ultimately shot and killed.

Reactions

The Brown family's lawyer, said that “Nothing, based on the facts before us, justifies the execution-style murder by this police officer in broad daylight. The police are playing games here and the parents are beyond incensed with the way that the police are handling the distribution of information. The police are not being transparent and they are strategically trying to justify this execution-style murder."

Johnson’s lawyer confirmed that Brown had taken cigars from the store, and said that “We see that there’s tape, that they claim they got a tape that shows there was some sort of strong-armed robbery,” said Freeman Bosley, Johnson’s attorney. “We need to see that tape, my client did tell us and told the FBI that they went into the store. He told FBI that [Brown] did take cigarillos. He told that to the DOJ and the St. Louis County Police.” In previous interviews, Johnson described the events of the shooting but did not mention that he and Brown had been in a convenience store just before, or that Brown had stolen anything.

The family of Michael Brown released a statement in which they condemn the way the police chief chose to disseminate information, which they said it was “intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight”, and that “there is nothing based on the facts that have been placed before us that can justify the execution style murder of their child by this police officer as he held his hands up, which is the universal sign of surrender.”

Anthony Rothert, the legal director for the Missouri branch of the ACLU, who had sued for the release of the incident report describing Brown's shooting, told ABC News in response to the report that “I think it's fair to say that releasing some records, but not releasing others when they're equally public record seems to be an intentional effort to distract the public. They're hiding it for whatever reason... That leaves the public to imagine why that's being hidden."

Wayne Fisher, a professor with the Rutgers University Police Institute in New Jersey, said that “if the robbery in any way caused the initial contact, it has relevance ... if it didn’t, it has none. The use of deadly force in this situation will be authorized if the officer reasonably believed his life was in danger, that question does not appear to be directly related to whether or not Brown was a suspect in a robbery.” Eugene O'Donnell, a former district attorney in New York City who now serves as a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said that while the police officer may have stopped Brown for jaywalking, Brown may have been thinking the officer knew about the robbery: “Obviously the cop's reaction is not affected, but what could be affected is [Brown's] reaction to the cop.”

Daniel Isom II, a retired St. Louis police chief who now teaches at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, was critical of Jackson's leadership, saying that: "It's clear the Ferguson chief is overwhelmed by the magnitude of this incident. He has been releasing information as he sees appropriate, but maybe not taking into consideration the impact of releasing that information."

In an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation on August 17, Nixon blamed the local police chief for the renewed violence in Ferguson after the release of the robbery tapes, stating that “it had an incendiary effect. When you release pictures and you clearly are attempting to besmirch a victim of a shooting, shot down in his own street, a young man, and at the same time you’re releasing information … to tarnish him, then properly, there was a lot of folks that were concerned about that, and I do think it flamed it back up and has caused us to have to deal with some of that.”

Aftermath

Protests

Protests in Ferguson, Missouri

Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ronald Johnson

On August 10, a day of memorials began peacefully, but some crowd members became unruly after a candlelight vigil. Local police stations assembled approximately 150 officers in riot gear. Some people began looting businesses, vandalizing vehicles and confronting police who sought to block off access to several areas of the city. At least 12 businesses were looted or vandalized, a gas station was set on fire, leading to over 30 arrests. Many windows were broken and several nearby businesses closed on Monday. The people arrested face charges of assault, burglary and theft. Police used a variety of equipment, including riot gear and helicopters, to disperse the crowd by 2 a.m. Two police officers suffered minor injuries during the events.

On August 11, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd at the shell of the QuikTrip convenience store burnt out the night before. According to reports, gunshots were fired in Ferguson and five people were arrested. Some protesters allegedly threw rocks at police. The police responded by firing tear gas and bean bag rounds upon those protesting, which included State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal.

On August 12, several hundred protesters gathered in Clayton, the county seat, seeking criminal prosecution of the officer involved in the shooting. Protesters in Ferguson carried signs and many held their hands in the air while shouting "don't shoot". According to police, some protesters threw bottles at the officers, prompting the use of tear gas to disperse the crowd. The following day, a heavily-armed SWAT team of around 70 officers arrived at a protest demanding that protesters disperse. That night, police used smoke bombs, flash grenades, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Video footage of the events recorded by KARG Argus Radio shows Ferguson Police firing tear gas into a residential neighborhood and ordering the journalist to cease recording.

Between August 12 and 13, police officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at lines of protesters and reporters. At least seven protesters were arrested on the evening of August 12 and 13, after police told protesters to "'go home' or face arrest." CNN cameras filmed an officer addressing a group of protesters by saying "Bring it, you fucking animals, bring it."

As a result of looting and disruption the night before, On August 16, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared in a press conference a state of emergency and implemented a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew in Ferguson. Some residents at the press conference said that law enforcement officers had instigated the violence with their military-like tactics. Johnson said that police would not enforce the curfew with armored trucks and tear gas, and that police will communicate with protesters and give them time and opportunity to leave before curfew.

In the early hours of August 17, tear gas and tactical units were used, despite prior assurances. One individual was shot and in critical condition and seven were arrested. Later that morning, a Missouri Highway Patrol spokesman announced that the curfew would be extended for a second day.

Multiple arrests including journalists

On August 13, while police were clearing a McDonald's restaurant prior to a police-imposed curfew, The Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery and The Huffington Post reporter Ryan Reilley were arrested while presumably charging their phones and using the restaurant's WiFi hotspot to access Twitter. Officers reportedly asked them to leave first, gave them a 45-second countdown when they were not moving fast enough, and ultimately resorted to more forceful measures to remove people from the McDonald's. "Officers slammed me into a fountain soda machine because I was confused about which door they were asking me to walk out of," Lowery said. Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, issued a statement, saying "there was absolutely no justification for Wesley Lowery's arrest," and that the police behavior "was wholly unwarranted and an assault on the freedom of the press to cover the news."

Al Jazeera America journalists covering the protests in Ferguson on Wednesday night were also tear-gassed and shot at with rubber bullets by a police SWAT team. An officer was captured on video turning the reporters' video camera toward the ground and dismantling their equipment. Al Jazeera America issued a statement, calling the incident an "egregious assault on the freedom of the press that was clearly intended to have a chilling effect on our ability to cover this important story." On Thursday August 14, the St. Charles County Regional SWAT Team put out a press release stating that "...the SWAT Team has not been any part of attempting to prevent media coverage." However, a raw video captured a vehicle marked clearly as "St. Charles County SWAT" rolling up to the Al Jazeera lights and camera and taking them down.

The Ferguson police chief denied any suppression of the media. U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the First Amendment violations, saying, "There's also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests, or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights. And here, in the United States of America, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the American people on what they see on the ground."

St. Louis alderman Antonio French, who was documenting the protests for social media, was also arrested by police in Ferguson on Wednesday night. French said that he went into his car to escape tear gas and smoke bombs being thrown by police. While he was in his car, police approached him, dragging him out of the car. French was arrested for unlawful assembly. Speaking to reporters after his release from jail on Thursday, Mr. French described the dozen or so other people arrested as “peacekeepers.” “Inside that jail is nothing but peacekeepers,” he said. “They rounded up the wrong people ... reverends, young people organizing the peace effort.”

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of Press, a large coalition of media and press freedom groups, wrote to police forces in Ferguson, Missouri to protest the harassment of journalists covering the protests.

Operational shift: de-militarization of police

SLCPD SWAT officers at Ferguson

On August 14, 2014, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (Missouri) stated that "militarization of the police escalated the protesters' response." On August 14, 2014, City of St. Louis, Missouri Chief of Police Sam Dotson stated he would not have employed military-style policing such as that which transpired. According to Chief Dotson, "My gut told me what I was seeing were not tactics that I would use in the city and I would never put officers in situations that I would not do myself." Another reason Dotson did not want the city and county police to collaborate was because of the history of racial profiling by county police. In an email to a St. Louis alderman who brought up concerns of racial profiling, he wrote: "I agree and removed our tactical assistance. We did not send tactical resources to Ferguson on Tuesday or Wednesday. Our only assistance was that of four traffic officers to help divert traffic and keep both pedestrians and motorists safe. On Thursday we will have no officers assisting Ferguson."

Governor Jay Nixon said at a press conference on August 14, that the Missouri State Highway Patrol would take over policing Ferguson from the St. Louis County police, whose tactics were widely criticized, referring to the change as "an operational shift," and that police will use force "only when necessary," and will generally "step back a little bit." Nixon said that Ferguson security will be overseen by Captain Ron Johnson of the Highway Patrol. Johnson, an African-American, said he grew up in the community and "it means a lot to me personally that we break this cycle of violence." The Governor said, "The people of Ferguson want their streets to be free of intimidation and fear" he said, but during the past few days, "it looked a little bit more like a war zone and that's not acceptable." St. Louis county prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch criticized the governor's decision, saying "It's shameful what he did today; he had no legal authority to do that. To denigrate the men and women of the county police department is shameful."

On the evening of August 14, 2014, Captain Johnson walked with and led a large, peaceful march in Ferguson.

Context

According to The Washington Post, the Ferguson Police Department "bears little demographic resemblance" to the mostly African-American community, which already harbored "suspicions of the law enforcement agency" preceding Brown's shooting, with 48 of the police force's 53 officers being white, while the population is only one-third white and about two-thirds black. An annual report last year by the office of Missouri's attorney general concluded that Ferguson police were "twice as likely to arrest African Americans during traffic stops as they were whites." According to CNN, the officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson, is white, and lives in Crestwood, Missouri, 18 miles away from Ferguson.

The Los Angeles Times argues that the situation that exploded in Ferguson “has been building for decades”, and that protesters initially came from the town and neighboring towns that have pockets of poverty, the poorest of St. Louis, and lists “the growing challenge of the suburbanization of poverty” as the catalyst.

Reactions

Federal government

• On August 12, President Barack Obama offered his condolences to Brown's family and community. He stated that the Department of Justice was investigating the situation along with local officials.
• FAA—On August 12, citing an incident where a Ferguson Police helicopter was fired on from the ground, the FAA implemented a no-fly zone over Ferguson.

Members of Congress

• In an August 14 op-ed in Time Magazine, US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said that police forces need to be demilitarized, that "The shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown is an awful tragedy" and that "Anyone who thinks race does not skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention."
• Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) tweeted similar descriptions of Ferguson as a "war zone" in the aftermath of the police actions of August 12, with Amash calling the situation "frightening" on August 13 and Warren demanding answers on August 14.
• Representative Lacy Clay (D-MO), who represents Ferguson, stated on August 16 that he had "absolutely no confidence in the Ferguson police, the county prosecutor" to conduct a fair investigation into Brown's death. Clay suggested that the police had released the information about the robbery in order to "negatively influence a jury pool in St. Louis County" and to "assassinate Michael Brown's character". On August 17, Clay called for "a national conversation about how police forces should interact with the African-American community".

Missouri government

• On August 14, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon stated that the Ferguson riots were "deeply challenging" and "promised 'operational shifts' to ease the situation, using the Missouri State Highway Patrol to direct security.
• Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Missouri Senator who represented parts of Ferguson and was tear-gassed during the demonstrations, said in an interview that "It doesn't matter if Michael Brown committed theft or not. That's not the issue. The issue is what happened when Darren Wilson encountered Michael Brown, and when he died — when he was killed. Those are the only facts that are necessary."

Local authorities

• Jennings, Missouri: In response to safety concerns, the school district in nearby Jennings cancelled the first day of classes.
• Ferguson-Florissant School District, Missouri: In response to the continuing unrest in the community, Ferguson-Flourissant schools that were to open Thursday were closed and scheduled to reopen Monday
• On August 12, St. Louis Police Department chief Sam Dotson decided against providing any more manpower to Ferguson owing to concerns about the welfare of the protesters and police handling of the situation.

Brown family

• A member of the Brown family released a statement that "the stealing and breaking in stores is not what Mike will want; it is very upsetting to me and my family. Our family didn't ask for this but for Justice and Peace [sic]" that followed the death of Brown. The Brown family also announced that Benjamin Crump, one of the lawyers in the Trayvon Martin case, would represent the family.

Third parties

• On August 10, Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network announced their plans to travel to St. Louis.
• Local pastors held a vigil on the morning of Sunday, August 10. Another vigil was planned on the same day, at 8:00 p.m. in the area where Brown was killed.
• National vigils and marches occurred on the evening of Thursday, August 14, in over 100 cities around the U.S. with thousands in attendance. They were organized by @FeministaJones, using Twitter and the #NMOS14 hashtag.
• Hacktivists claiming an association with Anonymous and operating under the codename "Operation Ferguson" organized cyberprotests by setting up a website and a Twitter account. The group promised that if any protesters were harassed or harmed, they would attack the city's servers and computers, taking them offline. City officials said that e-mail systems were targeted and phones died, while the Internet crashed at the City Hall. Prior to August 15, members of Anonymous corresponding with Mother Jones said that they were working on confirming the identity of the undisclosed police officer who shot Brown and would release his name as soon as they did. On August 14, Anonymous posted on its Twitter feed what it claimed was the name of the officer involved in the shooting. However, police said the identity released by Anonymous was incorrect. Twitter subsequently suspended the Anonymous account from its service.
• Protestors in the Middle East have expressed support for protestors in Ferguson, using social media to equate the protests and police response to conflicts in Egypt, Turkey, and the Gaza Strip, and have offered advice on how to deal with tear gas.
• Amnesty International sent a team of human rights observers, trainers and researchers to Ferguson. This a first time that the organization has deployed such team in the United States.

See also

• 1992 Los Angeles riots
• Death of Eric Garner
• List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, August 2014
• List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
• Shooting of Trayvon Martin

External links

• Day 1: Surveillance video that police contend shows Michael Brown robbing a convenience store.
• Day 1: Ferguson Police Department incident report of contemporaneous convenience store robbery
• Day 1: Video interview of eyewitness Dorian Johnson on CNN
• Day 1: Video of St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar giving his department's version of the circumstances and events that led to the death of Michael Brown
• Day 1: Video interview of eyewitness Tiffany Mitchell on CNN
• Day 1: Video interview of eyewitness discussing the events that ended in vandalism, looting, and burning of Quik Trip store.
• Day 5: Rachel Maddow interview with City Alderman, Antonio French the day after his arrest in Ferguson on charges of disorderly conduct
• Day 8: Ty Pruitt, Cousin of Michael Brown, pleads for peace from looters