MOSCOW, August 17 (RIA Novosti) - Missouri Governor Jay Nixon imposed a state of emergency and declared a curfew in Ferguson amid ongoing protests in the city following the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer last week, Reuters reported Sunday.
"To protect the people and property of Ferguson today, I signed an order declaring a state of emergency and ordering implementation of a curfew in the impacted area of Ferguson," Nixon said at a press conference.
According to Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson, the curfew will come into force at midnight and last till 5:00 am.
Several people, attending the press conference opposed the measure and interrupted Nixon’s speech with claims that only the arrest of the police officer who shot the teenager would help restore peace in the city.
On August 10, a police officer shot dead Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man. The incident spurred a week of mass protests in Ferguson, as well as in a number of other cities across the country; several people were injured in clashes with police that used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the angry crowd.
According to preliminary information, Brown was suspected in a convenience-store theft. At a press conference earlier this week, authorities, however, said the police officer who shot the teenager was not aware of the fact at the time. According to the city's police chief, Brown was stopped because he was “walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic.”
