Alderman Antonio French posted the footage Monday night, following another protest criticizing police for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Michael Brown. The video shows French being approached by officers in riot gear inside a parking lot. One officer has his firearm drawn toward French while another says, “Get the f*ck out of here” and motions away from the parking lot. It is not clear whether French identified himself as a city official during the encounter in the St. Louis suburb.
French’s video also shows protesters gathered in front of the Quik Trip convenience store that was hit by looters Sunday night. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Monday’s demonstration came hours after the Federal Bureau of Investigations opened a separate probe into Brown’s death. Local authorities said Brown was shot while trying to take an officer’s gun after being stopped and asked to stop walking on the street.
But Dorian Johnson, a friend of Brown’s who has identified himself as a witness, has been quoted as saying that Brown did not go into the vehicle and had his hands up indicating surrender when the unidentified officer shot him multiple times.
Brown’s parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, also made their first public statement on Monday alongside Benjamin Crump, the attorney who represented 17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s parents following his shooting death at the hands of George Zimmerman in Florida.
“We need justice for our son,” Michael Brown Sr. said several times during their appearance.
French posted extensively about Monday’s demonstration on Twitter, including a photo and statement that police had blocked media outlets from entering the area.
A line of police cars with high beams on greats anyone trying to enter #Ferguson. It's shut down. No media allowed. pic.twitter.com/pPE2m4G0UQ
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 12, 2014
Post-Dispatch photographer corroborated French’s statement, saying on Twitter that he was, “Being ordered to leave scene threatened with arrest.”
Watch French’s video, as posted on Monday, below.
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