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Hundreds of protestors gathered and marched again in Ferguson, MO Thursday night. But this time it was primarily peaceful. The credit for the shift in atmosphere goes to the commander of the Missouri Highway Patrol who's now overseeing security.
Protesters gather near the site where Michael Brown was killed and chant, 'Hands up, don't shoot,' after marching on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 14, 2014.(Photo: Robert Rodriguez, epa)
FERGUSON, Mo. — The Ferguson, Mo., police department on Friday will identify the officer who shot Michael Brown, whose death spurred violent protests and unrest in the St. Louis suburb over the past week.
Ferguson, Mo., Police Chief Thomas Jackson said he would like to release the name by 9 a.m. ET Friday.
Brown was unarmed when the officer killed him. Witnesses in the area say Brown had raised his hands to surrender when he was shot. Police have not confirmed that information.
The announcement comes after Twitter suspended an account Thursday linked to a loose-knit "hacktivist" group that released the name of a police officer it said shot and killed Brown on Saturday night. However, police, Ferguson's mayor and the stepmother of the man named all said the group was incorrect and that the person named is not a police officer.
As of early Friday morning, no violent clashes were reported after hundreds of protesters gathered and marched near the flashpoint where riots and civil unrest have unfolded here in recent days.
Citizens protesting Brown's death appeared to be getting along peacefully as they marched alongside state troopers, who took over operational control of the protest scenes Thursday.
Several marchers stopped to shake hands with police and troopers. Some people stopped to hug and chat with Capt. Ron Johnson of the Highway Patrol, who was born and grew up near this community and is now overseeing security.
The scene stood in stark contrast clashes earlier this week when officers wore riot gear.
Gov. Jay Nixon announced Thursday that the Missouri Highway Patrol would be taking control of security in Ferguson and that the unit in the embattled town would be overseen by Johnson.
"What's gone on here over the last few days is not what Missouri is about. It's not what Ferguson is about. This is a place where people work, go to school, raise their families, go to church," Nixon said. "But lately it's looked a little bit more like a war zone and that's unacceptable."
President Obama also called for peace and calm in Ferguson on Thursday after meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder about the repeated clashes between protesters and police.
"I know that emotions are raw right now in Ferguson, and there are certainly passionate differences about what has happened," Obama said from his vacation in Edgartown, Mass.
"But let's remember that we're all part of one American family. We are united in common values, and that includes belief in equality under the law; a basic respect for public order and the right to peaceful public protest."
Meanwhile, people across America came together to silently remember Brown, whose death is raising questions about racial profiling and police militarization.
Attendees wore red ribbons to honor Brown, 18, at Thursday evening rallies from Maine to Michigan, Florida to New York, Vermont, Colorado and California.
Kenny Wiley, a youth minister who helped organize a vigil in Denver said Brown's death is the most recent demonstration of what he called the "systemic inequality" facing young black men in America. Wiley, who is black, said the system feels stacked against some people who pay the price with their lives.
"It wasn't in our city, but this is our country, our world," said Wiley, 26. "We want to stand up and say enough is enough, and to mourn those who have lost their lives." Wiley led about 100 people through a vigil that included the out-loud listing of names of black men killed by police and chants of "hands up, don't shoot."
Contributing: Marisol Bello, Trevor Hughes, KSDK-TV (St. Louis)
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