Aaron Coleman, left, joins other protesters marching in historic downtown Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 11. The group rallied in front of police headquarters to protest the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson police.(Photo: Sid Hastings, AP)
FERGUSON, Mo. — Authorities on Tuesday delayed revealing the identity of the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teen three days ago, citing threats against the officer on social media.
"If we come out and say, 'it was this officer,' then he immediately becomes a target," Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said. "We're taking the threats seriously."
Jackson, who had said he would reveal the officer's name Tuesday, said there is now no timetable.
Tuesday evening he said the officer has been on the force for about six years and had come across 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. and a friend walking in the street. The youths were black and witnesses said the officer was white.
Jackson said all but three of the police department's 53 officers are white.
Police have said that after the officer asked the teens to move, a scuffle occurred. Witnesses say Brown had raised his hands to surrender when the shots were fired. Police have not confirmed that information.
A second witness has told the St. Louis NAACP that Brown did not struggle with the officer inside his patrol car, where the fatal shots were fired. The unidentified person will be interviewed by FBI.
The shooting set off two nights of angry, violent protests. Tuesday night, police in riot gear blocked access to downtown Ferguson as protests continued.
Dozens of people packed into the Greater St Mark Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, Mo. for the latest community meeting about the death of Michael Brown. The gathering, called by the family of Brown, was part church service and part rally as people stood shoulder to shoulder chanting and applauding.
Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown, Sr. sat center stage as speakers talked about the police "executing" their child.
As Rev. Al Sharpton took to the stage, he repeated "No justice, no peace." Later, he told the crowd that St. Louis has a history of racial issues including a police department that lacks diversity.
"We need a strategic, united movement," Sharpton said. "We can't be mad for two weeks."
Sharpton implored the crowd to stick with Brown's family in the month and weeks ahead. He also collected donations for the parents and asked the crowd to follow their wishes and remain peaceful.
To make his point, Sharpton also brought onto the church's pulpit dozens of young men who he said should meet tomorrow to plan how to keep the peace in St. Louis.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Brown's family, also spoke to the crowd.
"We have to keep fighting this fight," Crump said.
Despite calls from Michael Brown's parents and the NAACP to keep calm in the wake of the teen's death, police in Ferguson, Missouri say some protestors have thrown bottles and rocks at police, prompting officers to use tear gas. VPC
Protesters promising a peaceful demonstration Monday gathered across the street from the St. Louis County Police Department's Clayton headquarters. Also in attendance: About 50 police officers from 10 area departments.
Jackson said protesters Monday night threw rocks at police, and that gunfire came from the crowd, so officers used tear gas and shot "beanbag rounds" meant to stun them. There were 15 arrests but no reports of the looting that rocked the suburban St. Louis city Sunday night, KSDK-TV reported.
"This is a lot of young people reacting to getting shot at with tear gas, being met with riot gear," said protester Shawn Jordan. "How else are these young kids going to react when they are being met with aggressiveness?"
At a community forum Monday, national NAACP President Cornell William Brooks demanded justice while condemning the violence and looting.
"Martin Luther King did not live and die that we might steal and lie in the name of justice in the middle of the night," said Cornell. "He lived and died that we might seek justice in the middle of the day."
The parents of Michael Brown, a teen who was fatally shot by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer Saturday, said their son was a good boy who didn't deserve to die. Following heated protests, they're calling for "no violence, just justice." VPC
In a statement Tuesday, President Obama called Brown's death "heartbreaking," and he sent "deepest condolences" to his family and the community "at this very difficult time."
"As Attorney General Holder has indicated, the Department of Justice is investigating the situation along with local officials, and they will continue to direct resources to the case as needed," he added. "I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Mo.,, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding. We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. Along with our prayers, that's what Michael and his family, and our broader American community, deserve."
Demands for answers in Ferguson have been steadily growing louder.
The FBI opened an investigation Monday into the death of Brown, who police said was shot multiple times Saturday after being confronted by an officer in Ferguson, a city of 21,000 that's nearly 70% black.
Authorities were vague about exactly what led the officer to open fire, except to say that the shooting was preceded by a scuffle of some kind with a man. It was unclear whether Brown or the man he was with was involved in the altercation.
Investigators have refused to publicly disclose the race of the officer, who is now on administrative leave. But Phillip Walker said he was on the porch of an apartment complex overlooking the scene when he heard a shot and saw a white officer with Brown on the street.
Brown's family has retained attorney Benjamin Crump, best known as the attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a white neighborhood watch volunteer, in Florida in 2012.
"I don't want to sugarcoat it, their baby was executed in broad daylight," said Crump, who stood by Brown's parents during a press conference Monday night. "We want to know and see exactly what happened because this family rejects what the police authorities said at their press conference."
Police officers arrest a man who refused to leave when police in riot gear cleared an area in downtown Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 11.(Photo: Robert Cohen, St. Louis-Post Dispatch, via AP)
Crump said Brown's death is an echo of the problems that led to the deaths of Trayvon Martin and other young black men.
Demonstrators expressed similar frustrations, with many saying Brown's death is the latest example of black life not being valued by police officers who see youth of color as dangerous. Several on Twitter using the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown expressed their anger over Brown's death.
MONDAY: Mom: Brown 'didn't create problems. He fixed things'
SUNDAY: Police use tear gas to disperse St. Louis looters
SATURDAY: Anger follows police shooting in St. Louis suburb
As a result of the unrest, airspace over Ferguson is being restricted until Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday, responding to a request by St. Louis County police. The no-fly zone will not affect commercial flights in and out of nearby Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
The restriction clears the area above Ferguson for police helicopters. The airport's director said a shot was fired into the air Sunday morning while a helicopter was flying over, though it wasn't clear whether the aircraft was targeted.
Brandie Piper reports for KSDK-TV in St. Louis. Contributing: Elizabeth Matthews and Christina Coleman, KSDK; Michael Winter, USA TODAY; The Associated Press.
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