WASHINGTON, D.C.
U.S. Missouri State Governor Jay Nixon Saturday declared a curfew and a state of emergency in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, as the clashes between police and protesters flared again Friday night following release of the name of the officer -- Darren Wilson -- who shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown.
After one and a half day of peaceful protests, fierce clashes erupted between the protesters and Highway Patrol Police, who took over the security of the town Thursday amid several cases of looting.
Details of the fatal encounter remain unclear. Police claim Brown was shot in a scuffle, while protesters say he was gunned down while he had his hands in the air.
Governor Nixon, in a meeting with the community in Ferguson at a local church, said he had signed a curfew in the town between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. (5-10 a.m. GMT) as violence and looting resurfaced.
Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said at the meeting that FBI agents were in Ferguson on Saturday morning, going door-to-door to investigate Brown’s murder.
Local people heckled the governor’s speech, shouting calls on him to resign. The persistent protests and shouting led the officials to postpone the press briefing.
Local Police Chief Thomas Jackson on Friday released the name of the police who shot Brown and some documents showing Brown had been suspected of stealing a $48.99 box of cigars from a convenience store at the time of his death, a suspicion that seemingly demonstrated why police had stopped the teen.
However, later in the day he revealed that Wilson, the officer who shot 18-year-old Brown, did not know he was suspected of theft.
Protesters had rallied for a week following the death of Brown on Saturday last week, which inflamed tensions in the predominantly black city.
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