FERGUSON,
Mo. — Hours after Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri imposed a midnight-to-5
a.m. curfew on Saturday in this small city, a group of protesters defied
the order and violence flared briefly on Sunday morning, a week after
demonstrations erupted over the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a
white police officer.
A
clash between the protesters and dozens of police officers in riot gear
began less than 30 minutes after the curfew took effect and ended about
45 minutes later with the arrest of seven people, all charged with
“failure to disperse,” officials said.
The
protesters had moved toward the officers — some of whom rode in armored
vehicles — and chanted: “We are Mike Brown! We have the right to
assemble peacefully!” invoking the name of the 18-year-old who was shot
and killed by the Ferguson officer.
“You
are violating the state-imposed curfew,” a police officer told the
demonstrators as rain, heavy at times, passed through the area.
Protesters
tossed at least one bottle rocket, the police said, and at the apparent
sound of gunshots from a restaurant at the end of one street,
demonstrators scrambled to safety.
Despite
an earlier pledge by Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, the state Highway Patrol
commander who is overseeing security in Ferguson, the police eventually
began firing smoke grenades and some tear gas.
At a news conference
about 3 a.m. on Sunday, Captain Johnson explained that some tear gas
had been used because the police had learned that armed men were inside a
barbecue restaurant. One man with a gun had moved to the middle of the
street, Captain Johnson said, but escaped. Another man, who was not
identified, was shot by an unknown assailant and taken by companions to a
hospital, where he was reported to be in critical condition. A police
car was fired upon, the captain added, but it was not immediately clear
if it was hit.
As the news briefing ended, Captain Johnson was asked whether the curfew would continue, but he did not answer.
The
initial curfew announcement came at another news conference, on
Saturday afternoon, when Governor Nixon declared a state of emergency
here.
“This
is not to silence the people of Ferguson, but to address those who are
drowning out the voice of the people with their actions,” Mr. Nixon, a
Democrat, told reporters and residents at a church in Ferguson. “We will
not allow a handful of looters to endanger the rest of this community.
If we’re going to achieve justice, we must first have and maintain
peace.”
Mr. Nixon added: “This is a test. The eyes of the world are watching.”
The
announcement prompted cries of protest and anguish from some members of
the public who attended the news conference, with many of them arguing
that a curfew would lead only to new confrontations. Some people begged
to be able to go into the streets to try to calm any violence, but
Captain Johnson said the curfew would be put in place and enforced.
“We
won’t enforce it with trucks, we won’t enforce it with tear gas, we
will enforce it with communication,” Captain Johnson said. “We will be
telling people, ‘It’s time to go home.’ ”
Mr.
Nixon’s announcement, at the Greater St. Mark Family Church, near the
site of the unrest, came a week after the death of Mr. Brown, who was
shot by Officer Darren Wilson, a six-year police veteran. The police
said that Mr. Brown had been stopped for walking down the middle of the
street and that a scuffle had ensued, ending in gunfire; other
eyewitnesses have disputed that account.
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