Nearly 50 arrested in Ferguson protest
FERGUSON, Mo.— Police say nearly 50 people — including scholar and civil rights activist CornelWest— have been arrested at protests in Ferguson. Many withstood pounding rain and a tornado watch for four hours Monday to mark how long 18- year- old Michael Brown’s body was left in the street after he was shot by a police officer in August. Ferguson Police spokesman Tim Zoll says 42 people were arrested at the Ferguson Police Station. Authorities say six more were arrested for blocking a street near Emerson Electric’s headquarters in Ferguson. One man was arrested during a separate rally at St. Louis City Hall. Demonstrators also rallied at an upscale shopping center, but no arrests were made there. The demonstrations were part of four days of protests in the St. Louis suburb where Brown was unarmed when he was fatally shot on Aug. 9. Protests have been common since Brown, who was black, was killed by a white police officer. But tensions escalated last week when a white police officer in nearby St. Louis shot and killed another black 18- year- old, Vonderrit Myers Jr., who police say shot at officers before he was killed. Protesters were met by about 40 officers in riot gear. Several clergy members approached individual officers and asked them to “repent” for Brown’s killing and other acts of violence. Some officers engaged the protesters, while others ignored the efforts. “My heart feels that this has been going on too long,” Ferguson officer Ray Nabzdyk told the clergy. “We all stand in fault because we didn’t address this.”