MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - US police have again fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, after days of unrest sparked by the police shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager, Reuters reports.
The police actions came after hours of tense, but mostly peaceful protests, the news agency writes, citing witnesses.
Police asked the crowd to disperse several times, resorting to the use of tear gas and stun grenades after protesters refused to follow the order. A similar series of events took place on Sunday, in which one of those affected by the tear gas was an 8-year-old boy.
Protests have been ongoing in the US city of Ferguson, a suburb of St.Louis, since August 9, when 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot by police officer Darren Wilson. Brown was unarmed and had no criminal record. The autopsy showed that the teenager had been shot at six least times. Rallies were held in over 90 US cities following the murder.
The demonstrations in Ferguson have been met with a heavy police response. On August 16, after several violent clashes, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew, which was lifted after two days of failing to stop the unrest.
The US Federal Aviation Administration banned flights from operating below 3,000 feet over Ferguson last week, extending the ban to August 25 on Monday.
Eight people were arrested on Monday for failing to follow police instructions, the St. Louis Police Department said on its Twitter account. Among those arrested was Hedy Epstein, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, The Nation reported. “I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager. I didn’t think I would have to do it when I was 90. We need to stand up today so that people won’t have to do this when they’re 90,” Epstein was cited saying.
Two journalists, Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan Reilly of The Huffington Post, were arrested by local police last week while covering the protests. Reporters Without Borders condemned the detentions, saying Lowery and Reilly clearly identified themselves as journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm about the arrests of the journalists in Ferguson as well. "We are concerned by the detention and harassment of reporters trying to cover the news in Ferguson," CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said, adding that journalists have a right to work freely on the streets of any US city.
