Authorities Say Video Shows Teenager in Ferguson Had Gun
By ALAN BLINDER and MITCH SMITH
New York Times
AUG. 11, 2015
FERGUSON, Mo. — St. Louis County police investigators released surveillance video on Tuesday that they say shows an 18-year-old man who was shot by their officers pulling a gun out of his waistband and pointing it as he ran toward the street late Sunday.
The release of the video comes after protesters and the family of the youth, Tyrone Harris Jr., raised doubts about the police version of the events that left Mr. Harris critically injured after he was shot at by four plainclothes police detectives.
After Mr. Harris raced across West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, where demonstrators were commemorating the first anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, the authorities said, he began firing on an unmarked police vehicle whose lights were flashing. That led to a foot chase, the police said, which ended with Mr. Harris bloodied and facedown in a parking lot.
The video’s release comes as an edgy calm took hold in the troubled city. The St. Louis County executive said that he would consider on Wednesday lifting the state of emergency that he declared this week.
“I certainly don’t want to see the state of emergency any longer than it needs to be,” the county executive, Steve Stenger, said. “We’re going to see what happens tonight, see how things go. If the situation demonstrates no need, we will pull the state of emergency.”
An end to the emergency declaration would allow St. Louis County’s police chief, Jon Belmar, to cede command of law enforcement operations related to protests in Ferguson, the suburb that has been roiled by demonstrations since the Aug. 9, 2014, killing of Mr. Brown, a black teenager, by a white police officer.
But Ferguson’s mayor, James W. Knowles III, urged caution.
“I wouldn’t want to do anything prematurely, but I also wouldn’t want people to think that the city at large isn’t safe,” Mr. Knowles said. “We’ll have to play it by ear over the next couple days. I don’t want to withdraw too soon and invite more problems back.”
Mr. Stenger declared the emergency on Monday, after what the police said was a shootout between officers and Mr. Harris.
As Mr. Harris remained hospitalized in critical condition and arrested on felony charges that include assault on a law enforcement officer, St. Louis County investigators took to YouTube to post footage from a surveillance camera in the strip mall where Sunday’s shooting started. The black-and-white clip, only 13 seconds long, shows people milling about before ducking and running behind cars. The man who the police said was Mr. Harris can be seen running toward the storefronts, then turning back toward the street and pulling the weapon. The video does not show the confrontation between Mr. Harris and the detectives.
A protest activist, DeRay McKesson, said he still had more questions than answers about what led the police to shoot Mr. Harris.
“What I saw on the video was someone with a gun,” Mr. McKesson said. “It’s an open-carry state. So I hope that the presence of a gun doesn’t mean people get shot.”
Sunday’s shooting had prompted the authorities to brace for renewed unrest on Monday night.
But officers, many in riot gear, faced only intermittent clashes with protesters who gathered on West Florissant Avenue.
Twenty-two people were arrested Monday on or near the street, where there have been dozens of tense standoffs since last summer when Mr. Brown’s death spurred wide protests, some of which were violent. Some protesters returned to the street on Tuesday night.
John Eligon contributed reporting.
New York Times
AUG. 11, 2015
FERGUSON, Mo. — St. Louis County police investigators released surveillance video on Tuesday that they say shows an 18-year-old man who was shot by their officers pulling a gun out of his waistband and pointing it as he ran toward the street late Sunday.
The release of the video comes after protesters and the family of the youth, Tyrone Harris Jr., raised doubts about the police version of the events that left Mr. Harris critically injured after he was shot at by four plainclothes police detectives.
After Mr. Harris raced across West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, where demonstrators were commemorating the first anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, the authorities said, he began firing on an unmarked police vehicle whose lights were flashing. That led to a foot chase, the police said, which ended with Mr. Harris bloodied and facedown in a parking lot.
The video’s release comes as an edgy calm took hold in the troubled city. The St. Louis County executive said that he would consider on Wednesday lifting the state of emergency that he declared this week.
“I certainly don’t want to see the state of emergency any longer than it needs to be,” the county executive, Steve Stenger, said. “We’re going to see what happens tonight, see how things go. If the situation demonstrates no need, we will pull the state of emergency.”
An end to the emergency declaration would allow St. Louis County’s police chief, Jon Belmar, to cede command of law enforcement operations related to protests in Ferguson, the suburb that has been roiled by demonstrations since the Aug. 9, 2014, killing of Mr. Brown, a black teenager, by a white police officer.
But Ferguson’s mayor, James W. Knowles III, urged caution.
“I wouldn’t want to do anything prematurely, but I also wouldn’t want people to think that the city at large isn’t safe,” Mr. Knowles said. “We’ll have to play it by ear over the next couple days. I don’t want to withdraw too soon and invite more problems back.”
Mr. Stenger declared the emergency on Monday, after what the police said was a shootout between officers and Mr. Harris.
As Mr. Harris remained hospitalized in critical condition and arrested on felony charges that include assault on a law enforcement officer, St. Louis County investigators took to YouTube to post footage from a surveillance camera in the strip mall where Sunday’s shooting started. The black-and-white clip, only 13 seconds long, shows people milling about before ducking and running behind cars. The man who the police said was Mr. Harris can be seen running toward the storefronts, then turning back toward the street and pulling the weapon. The video does not show the confrontation between Mr. Harris and the detectives.
A protest activist, DeRay McKesson, said he still had more questions than answers about what led the police to shoot Mr. Harris.
“What I saw on the video was someone with a gun,” Mr. McKesson said. “It’s an open-carry state. So I hope that the presence of a gun doesn’t mean people get shot.”
Sunday’s shooting had prompted the authorities to brace for renewed unrest on Monday night.
But officers, many in riot gear, faced only intermittent clashes with protesters who gathered on West Florissant Avenue.
Twenty-two people were arrested Monday on or near the street, where there have been dozens of tense standoffs since last summer when Mr. Brown’s death spurred wide protests, some of which were violent. Some protesters returned to the street on Tuesday night.
John Eligon contributed reporting.
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