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| Police guard the entrance to a gas station in front of a memorial to Antonio Martin on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, in Berkeley, Mo. The mayor of the St. Louis suburb of Berkeley urged calm Wednesday after a white police officer killed the black 18-year-old who police said pointed a gun at him, reigniting tensions that have lingered since the death of Michael Brown in neighboring Ferguson. |
BERKELEY, Mo.
(AP) -- Demonstrators took to the streets for a second night after a
white police officer in Berkeley, Missouri, killed a black 18-year-old
who police said pointed a gun at him.
Dozens
of protesters held a vigil late Wednesday at the gas station in the St.
Louis suburb where Antonio Martin was shot, and they briefly blocked
traffic on Interstate 170 during a march before returning to the
station. Berkeley Police Chief Frank McCall told KMOV-TV that six to
eight people were arrested.
Later, about 75
people staged a peaceful protest early Christmas morning outside of a
nearby church, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Police in riot
gear were present.
The actions were calmer
than a night before, when a crowd of about 300 people gathered at the
gas station, throwing rocks and bricks in a scene reminiscent of the
sometimes-violent protests that followed the death of 18-year-old
Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.
Unlike in
the death of Brown, who was unarmed and whose shooting was not captured
on video, Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said Wednesday that
surveillance footage appeared to show Martin pulling a gun on the
unidentified 34-year-old officer who questioned him and another man
about a theft at a convenience store.
Hoskins
urged calm, saying, "You couldn't even compare this with Ferguson or the
Garner case in New York," a reference to the chokehold death of Eric
Garner, another black man whose death was caused by a white police
officer.
Hoskins, who is black, also noted
that unlike in Ferguson - where a mostly white police force serves a
mostly black community - more than half of the officers in his city of
9,000 are black, including top command staff.
State
Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat who has been critical of how
police handled the Brown case, also said the Martin shooting was far
different than Brown's, noting that Martin pointed a weapon at the
officer.
"That officer not only has an
obligation to protect the community, but he also has a responsibility to
protect himself," said the senator, who is black. "Because of the
video, it is more than apparent that his life was in jeopardy."
But
Taurean Russell, co-founder of Hands Up United, asked if police had any
reason to question Martin in the first place. Mistrust of police
remains high among blacks, many of whom are weary of harassment, said
Russell, who is black.
St. Louis County Police
Chief Jon Belmar did not provide more details Wednesday about the theft
Martin was being asked about. He said Martin pulled a loaded 9mm
handgun and the officer fired three shots while stumbling backward. One
hit Martin, who didn't fire his own gun. He died at the scene.
"I
don't know why the guy didn't get a shot off, whether his gun jammed or
he couldn't get the safety off," said attorney Brian Millikan, who is
representing the officer. He said that the officer was lucky to be alive
and certain he had no choice but to use lethal force.
Police
throughout the country have been on alert since two New York officers
were gunned down in an ambush last weekend by a man who had made
threatening posts online about killing police. He later killed himself.
St.
Louis County police and the city of Berkeley are investigating the
shooting of Martin, which Belmar called a tragedy for both Martin's
family and the officer, who has been on the force for six years.
"He
will carry the weight of this for the rest of his life, certainly for
the rest of his career," Belmar said of the officer. "There are no
winners here."
The officer wasn't wearing his
body camera, and his cruiser's dashboard camera was not activated
because the car's emergency lights were not on, Belmar said.
Police
released surveillance video clips from three different angles. The men
can be seen leaving the store as a patrol car drives up. The officer
gets out and speaks with them.
About 90
seconds later, one appears to raise his arm, though it's difficult to
see what he's holding because they were several feet from the camera.
Belmar said it was a 9mm handgun with one round in the chamber and five
more in the magazine.
Police were searching Wednesday for the other man, who ran away.
Belmar
said Martin had a criminal record that included three assault charges,
plus charges of armed robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of
a weapon.
Phone messages left for his parents
were not returned. His mother, Toni Martin-Green, told the
Post-Dispatch that Antonio was the oldest of four children.
"He's like any other kid who had dreams or hopes," she said. "We loved being around him. He'd push a smile out of you."
His
was the third fatal shooting of a young black man by a white police
officer in the St. Louis area since Brown was killed by Ferguson officer
Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. Kajieme Powell, 25, was killed Aug. 19 after
approaching St. Louis officers with a knife. Vonderrit Myers, 18, was
fatally shot on Oct. 8 after allegedly shooting at a St. Louis officer.
Each killing has led to protests, as did a grand jury's decision last month not to charge Wilson in Brown's death.
