Ferguson on edge as curfew takes hold

Police have fired multiple smoke canisters into a crowd of defiant protesters in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson where an unarmed black teenager had been shot by a white police officer while walking down the street.

A couple of hundred remaining protesters chanted “No justice! No curfew!” as the deadline took effect on Sunday morning.

As five armoured tactical vehicles approached the crowd, officers spoke through a loudspeaker: “You are in violation of a state-imposed curfew. You must disperse immediately. Failure to comply may result in arrest.’’

The curfew will run from midnight (05:00 GMT) until 5am, according to Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson, who has been appointed to oversee security in the suburban St Louis community that has been riled by the August 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The governor of the US state of Missouri, Jay Nixon, declared a state of emergency after a week of racially charged protests after police officer Darren Wilson, 28, shot and killed Brown as he and a friend walked down a street that runs through an apartment complex where Brown’s grandmother lives.

As the curfew approached, New Black Panther Party leader Malik Shabazz roamed the street with a bullhorn, encouraging people to leave for their own safety. Many appeared to follow his suggestion.

“The curfew is going to make things worse,” said protester Phonso Scott, 24. “I think the cops are going to get violent tonight, but they can’t lock us all up.”

“I think it’s an antagonistic decision to not allow people to express their freedom of speech. It’s an overreaction,’’ worried another protester, Darren Alexander, 57.

On Saturday afternoon, Nixon and other officials came face to face with angry members of the community during a tense news conference at a church near Ferguson.

“The eyes of the world are watching. This is the test of whether a community, this community, any community, can break the cycle of fear, distrust and violence, and replace them with peace, strength and, ultimately, justice,” Nixon, a Democrat, told the gathering.

Some in the crowd reacted angrily to the announcement of the curfew and said the police officer who killed Brown must be prosecuted for murder if peace is to return to the community.

Brown’s family and supporters have demanded for days that the officer who shot Brown be held accountable.

The US Department of Justice is investigating the shooting for any civil rights violations, and the St Louis County Police department also has launched a probe.