Aug. 15, 2014: A protester holds up a clenched fist in front of a convenience store that was looted and burned following the shooting death of Michael Brown by police nearly a week ago in Ferguson, Mo.AP
Police and about 200 protesters clashed in Ferguson, Missouri early Saturday morning following the disclosure of the officer who fatally shot a black teenager a week earlier and accusations that the teen was involved in a store robbery the day he was killed.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that police clad in riot gear were confronting protesters, and several stores were looted, including Field Beauty Supply and Ferguson Market and Liquor, where Michael Brown, 18, allegedly stole a box of cigars last week moments before he was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Other protesters eventually lined up in front of the market, keeping looters from returning.
Car windows and the glass around at least one bus stop were smashed as a driving rain fell, the newspaper reported.
It was peaceful until about midnight, when a large crowd broke into the convenience mart that Brown allegedly robbed the day he was killed.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson said some in the crowd began throwing rocks and other objects at police. Police used tear gas to disburse the crowd but no arrests were made.
One officer was hurt, but information on his injuries was not immediately available. No protesters were hurt.
Earlier Friday, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released documents alleging 18-year-old Michael Brown had been suspected of stealing a $48.99 box of cigars from a convenience store in a shortly before he was killed.
Jackson said at an afternoon press conference that Brown and his friend were stopped Saturday "because they were walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic."
The robbery "was not related to the initial contact" between the officer and Brown, he said.
Jackson said Wilson had gone to the area after a 911 call reporting the robbery. He says a dispatcher gave a description of the suspect, and that Wilson encountered Brown a few minutes before another officer arrived.
The announcement was met with anger by community members who insisted Brown wasn't the man seen in a security camera video of the robbery.
"I am incensed," Laura Keys, 50, told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I can't believe this is the tactic they are using, bringing up a robbery to make the victim look like he was the person who created this whole mess."
Dorian Johnson, the friend who was with Brown when he was shot and killed by a police officer over the weekend, reportedly confirmed that he and Brown had taken part in the theft of cigars from a convenience store that day. But police have determined that Johnson was not involved in the robbery and will not seek charges against him, Jackson said.
Police reports released Friday under an open-records request showed that at 11:51 a.m. on the day of the shooting, authorities received a 911 call reporting a robbery at the Ferguson Market. An unidentified officer was dispatched to the store, arriving within three minutes. The officer interviewed an employee and customer, who gave a description of a man who stole the cigars and walked off with another man toward a QuikTrip store.
Descriptions of the suspect were broadcast over the police radio. The officer did not find the suspects either on the street or at the Quik Trip, the reports said.
Separately, Wilson had been responding to a nearby call involving a sick 2-month child from 11:48 am until noon, when he left that place. A minute later, he encountered Michael Brown walking down Canfield Drive. The documents contained no description of what happened between Brown and Wilson.
Gov. Jay Nixon assigned oversight of the protests to the state Highway Patrol, stripping that authority from the St. Louis County Police Department.
He appointed Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who is black, to lead the police effort. Johnson, who grew up near Ferguson and commands a region that includes St. Louis County, marched alongside protesters Thursday, joined by other high-ranking brass from the Highway Patrol as well as the county department. The marchers also had a police escort.
"We're here to serve and protect," Johnson said. "We're not here to instill fear."
Click here to read more from the The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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