20 Are Arrested as Missouri Police Block Highway Protest of Teenager’s Shooting
By MANNY FERNANDEZ
SEPT. 10, 2014
New York Times
BERKELEY, Mo. — Demonstrators hoping to block Interstate 70 here on Wednesday to protest the shooting death of Michael Brown a month ago were barred by the police from entering the highway. About 20 protesters were arrested, some for sitting down in the middle of an intersection near an entrance ramp and others for throwing objects at officers.
As traffic continued to move during the late-afternoon rush, demonstrators and police officers, some in riot gear, faced each other in standoff, at times tense, on North Hanley Road at Interstate 70 near the St. Louis airport. The several dozen demonstrators were outnumbered by more than 100 officers from three law enforcement agencies.
One demonstrator, Charles Brooks, was among those who sat down in the road, shouting, “McCulloch got to go! McCulloch got to go!” — a reference to the St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert P. McCulloch, whose office is investigating the shooting. Asked why he had joined the protest, Mr. Brooks said, “I want to see justice served here.” Seconds later, he was picked up by officers, handcuffed and led to a bus from the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Although the demonstration, which formed shortly after 3 p.m., was generally peaceful, a handful of protesters hurled objects, including a brick, at the police. But protesters said the presence of riot-ready police officers was unnecessary and agitated many in the crowd.
“They’re absolutely too aggressive,” said Curtis Sadler, 65, a Ferguson, Mo., resident and bus driver who was at the protest.
The demonstration took place about five miles from the street in Ferguson where Mr. Brown, who was black and unarmed, was killed by a white Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9. Some witnesses have said Mr. Brown, 18, had put his hands up in surrender. Officer Wilson, who has not been charged, has been placed on leave and his location is unknown.
The demonstration was meant to last four and a half hours, symbolizing the death of Mr. Brown, whose body lay on the street for that length of time after he was shot, after an apparent scuffle with the officer. Organizers had hoped to pressure Gov. Jay Nixon to appoint a special prosecutor to lead the investigation of the killing. Activists and black lawmakers say Mr. McCulloch has shown bias in favor of law enforcement in previous police shooting cases and they question his impartiality. His father was a police officer who was shot and killed by a black man when Mr. McCulloch was 12, and his mother and other relatives worked for decades for the St. Louis Police Department.
But last week, Mr. Nixon appeared to have stripped himself of the power to remove Mr. McCulloch, after he lifted the executive order that established a state of emergency in Ferguson. Mr. McCulloch has said he would not make a decision to arrest Officer Wilson himself but would instead present evidence to a grand jury.
Some black leaders were skeptical that interrupting the commute for thousands of motorists who have no say in the case would help their cause and declined to participate, including representatives of the N.A.A.C.P. and the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. But organizers of the blockade said disrupting people’s day was a “small sacrifice” for seeking justice for Mr. Brown.
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“Civil disobedience does cause inconvenience,” said Eric E. Vickers, a lead organizer who is the chief of staff for State Senator Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat. “It does cause discomfort.”
Mr. Vickers said law enforcement officials went back on their word, promising them in a meeting on Monday that they could assemble on the shoulders and the grassy areas of the highway. He said activists would continue to attempt a shutdown, perhaps as early as next week. “We’ve created a huge disturbance, brought attention to the issue and we will be back,” he said.
Protests over Mr. Brown’s death have largely centered in Ferguson, but the traffic shutdown was one of the first demonstrations that attempted to disrupt the larger St. Louis region. Officials with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the St. Louis County Police and the St. Louis City Police, as well as those with emergency-services agencies, said the protesters were creating a hazard for themselves and others, and were threatening to delay the response times of ambulances and fire trucks.
There was a brief demonstration on Wednesday about a block from the Ferguson police station, when about 50 protesters blocked traffic one of the city’s main roads, West Florissant Avenue, the site of sometimes violent protests in the weeks after Mr. Brown’s death. But a torrential downpour sent protesters fleeing in early evening.
The highway shutdown was organized by some of the same black activists who blocked four lanes of Interstate 70 in July 1999 in a demonstration that brought traffic to a standstill for more than an hour and led to the arrests of Mr. Sharpton and more than 100 others. They were calling for more highway construction jobs for black workers and contractors. On the eve of a second planned traffic blockade, state officials largely met their demands, creating a minority training program within the Missouri Department of Transportation that has helped about 300 men and women get construction jobs.
Julie Bosman contributed reporting from Ferguson, Mo.
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| Police arrest demonstrators demanding justice in the police killing of Michael Brown a month ago. |
SEPT. 10, 2014
New York Times
BERKELEY, Mo. — Demonstrators hoping to block Interstate 70 here on Wednesday to protest the shooting death of Michael Brown a month ago were barred by the police from entering the highway. About 20 protesters were arrested, some for sitting down in the middle of an intersection near an entrance ramp and others for throwing objects at officers.
As traffic continued to move during the late-afternoon rush, demonstrators and police officers, some in riot gear, faced each other in standoff, at times tense, on North Hanley Road at Interstate 70 near the St. Louis airport. The several dozen demonstrators were outnumbered by more than 100 officers from three law enforcement agencies.
One demonstrator, Charles Brooks, was among those who sat down in the road, shouting, “McCulloch got to go! McCulloch got to go!” — a reference to the St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert P. McCulloch, whose office is investigating the shooting. Asked why he had joined the protest, Mr. Brooks said, “I want to see justice served here.” Seconds later, he was picked up by officers, handcuffed and led to a bus from the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Although the demonstration, which formed shortly after 3 p.m., was generally peaceful, a handful of protesters hurled objects, including a brick, at the police. But protesters said the presence of riot-ready police officers was unnecessary and agitated many in the crowd.
“They’re absolutely too aggressive,” said Curtis Sadler, 65, a Ferguson, Mo., resident and bus driver who was at the protest.
The demonstration took place about five miles from the street in Ferguson where Mr. Brown, who was black and unarmed, was killed by a white Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9. Some witnesses have said Mr. Brown, 18, had put his hands up in surrender. Officer Wilson, who has not been charged, has been placed on leave and his location is unknown.
The demonstration was meant to last four and a half hours, symbolizing the death of Mr. Brown, whose body lay on the street for that length of time after he was shot, after an apparent scuffle with the officer. Organizers had hoped to pressure Gov. Jay Nixon to appoint a special prosecutor to lead the investigation of the killing. Activists and black lawmakers say Mr. McCulloch has shown bias in favor of law enforcement in previous police shooting cases and they question his impartiality. His father was a police officer who was shot and killed by a black man when Mr. McCulloch was 12, and his mother and other relatives worked for decades for the St. Louis Police Department.
But last week, Mr. Nixon appeared to have stripped himself of the power to remove Mr. McCulloch, after he lifted the executive order that established a state of emergency in Ferguson. Mr. McCulloch has said he would not make a decision to arrest Officer Wilson himself but would instead present evidence to a grand jury.
Some black leaders were skeptical that interrupting the commute for thousands of motorists who have no say in the case would help their cause and declined to participate, including representatives of the N.A.A.C.P. and the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. But organizers of the blockade said disrupting people’s day was a “small sacrifice” for seeking justice for Mr. Brown.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
“Civil disobedience does cause inconvenience,” said Eric E. Vickers, a lead organizer who is the chief of staff for State Senator Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat. “It does cause discomfort.”
Mr. Vickers said law enforcement officials went back on their word, promising them in a meeting on Monday that they could assemble on the shoulders and the grassy areas of the highway. He said activists would continue to attempt a shutdown, perhaps as early as next week. “We’ve created a huge disturbance, brought attention to the issue and we will be back,” he said.
Protests over Mr. Brown’s death have largely centered in Ferguson, but the traffic shutdown was one of the first demonstrations that attempted to disrupt the larger St. Louis region. Officials with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the St. Louis County Police and the St. Louis City Police, as well as those with emergency-services agencies, said the protesters were creating a hazard for themselves and others, and were threatening to delay the response times of ambulances and fire trucks.
There was a brief demonstration on Wednesday about a block from the Ferguson police station, when about 50 protesters blocked traffic one of the city’s main roads, West Florissant Avenue, the site of sometimes violent protests in the weeks after Mr. Brown’s death. But a torrential downpour sent protesters fleeing in early evening.
The highway shutdown was organized by some of the same black activists who blocked four lanes of Interstate 70 in July 1999 in a demonstration that brought traffic to a standstill for more than an hour and led to the arrests of Mr. Sharpton and more than 100 others. They were calling for more highway construction jobs for black workers and contractors. On the eve of a second planned traffic blockade, state officials largely met their demands, creating a minority training program within the Missouri Department of Transportation that has helped about 300 men and women get construction jobs.
Julie Bosman contributed reporting from Ferguson, Mo.
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