Police shooting sparks unrest
18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead Aug. 9 by a suburban St. Louis police officer.
In the days that followed, community reaction to the death has ranged from an outpouring of grief to lawless episodes of vandalism and looting.
At the request of Ferguson police, Michael Brown’s death is being investigated by St. Louis County police. The FBI also has opened an investigation into possible civil rights violations. According to the Highway Patrol, 40 FBI agents started going door-to-door in the neighborhood on Aug. 16, talking to people who might have seen or have information about the shooting.
An independent autopsy determined that Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, according to the family’s attorneys and hired pathologists.
Family attorney Benjamin Crump said Brown’s parents wanted the additional autopsy because they feared results of the county’s examination could be biased. Crump declined to release copies of the report, and the county’s autopsy report has not been released.
Racial tensions have run high for decades in this city of 21,203 people. The former railroad town was once a mostly white St. Louis suburb until urban decay sent many families packing for more distant communities.
