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Justice for Michael Brown: Live Editor's report from Ferguson, Missouri

By Richard B. Muhammad | Last updated: Sep 1, 2014 - 1:05:06 PM

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Final Call Editor Richard B. Muhammad is on the grounds in #Ferguson. Bookmark this page and follow him for live updates and exclusive coverage.

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#ferguson State of emergency tonight Aug. 16, one week anniversary of police shooting of unarmed Mike Brown. Curfew midnight to 5am and police vehicles, ambulances, various county departments and state police massing in staging area not far from burned out Quick Trip store that is ground zero for protests.


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Traffic backed up for miles along Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. as cars, often filled with Black youth, head toward gathering spot at burned out Quick Trip store. "Hands up! Don't shoot!" Is the cry as demand for justice for Mike Brown is voiced.

Richard B. Muhammad reporting from Ferguson, MO..  Channel 4 KMOV is getting reporting wrong about unrest in Ferguson, Mo. The group it reports locked arms with backs to police in "acts of defiance" were those who were standing between demonstrators and police in riot gear. These appeared to be some state police and some other officers from different localities. I think any looting happened after police were in armored vehicles and leaving and an officer lobbed a tear gas canister into the crowd. Why was it necessary?

Richard B. Muhammad reporting from Ferguson, MO..  Just after midnight what looked like an advancing line of officers in riot gear, backed up by military vehicles seen in previous nights, a confrontation erupted. What made officers feel the need to advance was not clear but demonstrators moved to meet them. A line, including members of the Fruit of Islam, activist Anthony Shaheed, neighborhood residents, men and women, stood between the heavily armed officers. The crowd chanted angrily. "This is our generation's fight I am ready to die for this," said a young Black woman who removed a silk purple bandanna hiding her face. "Hands up! Don't shoot!" some shouted. "Fuck 12!" shouted others in a reference to police. There were not enough of us to hold the line. People moved forward, they kneeled. "These are my sons," one woman told me. It looked like the line of officers thinned. The crowd cheered. One man lunged forward. A officer inside a vehicle lobbed tear gas into the crowd. Other canisters followed, clanking and bouncing off the ground. People screamed and ran. I ran too. The door of the McDonalds restaurant was locked. I walked quickly to a lot behind the restaurant and turned right. My eyes were burning. The tear gas was caught in my throat. I walked into the darkness behind buildings as cars careened through the lot. The wind blew tear gas my way. I could hear what sounded like gunfire and I heard screams. I took off my shirt and dabbed my eyes, careful not to rub them. As I walked back down the main street. I saw my brother J.A. Salaam searching frantically. "Looking for me?" I said.

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Capt Ron Johnson talks with media in Ferguson, Mo.

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In Ferguson, Mo. where Blacks continue to gather at site of burned store and demand justice for Mike Brown.