Man, 20, charged with shooting 2 officers in Ferguson

[webfact]

Man, 20, charged with shooting 2 officers in Ferguson
By JIM SALTER

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A 20-year-old man charged Sunday with shooting two police officers watching over a demonstration outside the Ferguson Police Department had attended a protest there earlier that night but told investigators he wasn't targeting the officers, authorities said.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said suspect Jeffrey Williams told authorities he was firing at someone with whom he was in a dispute.

"We're not sure we completely buy that part of it," McCulloch said, adding that there might have been other people in a vehicle Williams is accused of firing from.

Williams is charged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle and three counts of armed criminal action. McCulloch said the investigation is ongoing.

The police officers were shot early Thursday as a late-night demonstration began to break up following the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson in the wake of a Justice Department report that found widespread racial bias in the police department.

"He was out there earlier that evening as part of the demonstration," McCulloch said of Williams.

But several activists who've been involved in the protests since the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer told The Associated Press they were not familiar with Williams.

Williams used a handgun that matches the shell casings at the scene, McCulloch said. He also said tips from the public led to the arrest.

Williams, who St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said is black, is being held on $300,000 bond. County police spokesman Brian Schellman said he didn't know whether Williams had an attorney or when he'd appear in court. A message left at the St. Louis County Justice Center was not immediately returned.

Brittany Ferrell, 26, a protest leader with the group Millennial Activists United, had just left a meeting with other leaders Sunday when word of the arrest circulated. She said no one in the group knew Williams, and they checked with other frequent protesters — who also hadn't heard of him.

Ferrell suspected McCulloch tried to cast him as a protester to reflect negatively on the movement.

"This is a fear tactic," she said. "We are very tight-knit. We know each other by face if not by name, and we've never seen this person before."

John Gaskin, a St. Louis NAACP leader, said of Williams, "I don't know him. I've never seen him."

Williams, a north St. Louis County resident, was on probation for receiving stolen property, McCulloch said. "I think there was a warrant out for him on that because he had neglected to report for the last seven months to his probation officer," he said.

Online state court records show a man by the name of Jeffrey Williams at the address police provided Sunday was charged in 2013 with receiving stolen property and fraudulent use of a credit/debit device.

There was no answer at the door at the small, ranch-style home. Several neighbors, including the people just across the street, said they didn't know Williams. But one, 26-year-old Jason White, said "He was cool. I never heard of him doing nothing to nobody."

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement Sunday that the arrest "sends a clear message that acts of violence against our law enforcement personnel will never be tolerated" and praised "significant cooperation between federal authorities and the St. Louis County Police Department."

Belmar previously called the shooting "an ambush," and had said the two officers easily could have died, like two New York City officers who were shot and killed in their police cruiser in December.

A 41-year-old St. Louis County officer was shot in the right shoulder, the bullet exiting through his back. A 32-year-old officer from Webster Groves was wearing a riot helmet with the face shield up. He was shot in the right cheek, just below the eye, and the bullet lodged behind his ear.

The officers were released from the hospital later Thursday, and Belmar said Sunday that they "were getting better, not getting worse."

The police department has been a national focal point since Brown, who was black and unarmed, was killed by now-former police officer Darren Wilson. Wilson was cleared by the Justice Department's report and a grand jury led by McCulloch declined to indict Wilson in November.

The federal report found widespread racial bias in the city's policing and in a municipal court system driven by profit extracted from mostly black and low-income residents.

Six Ferguson officials, including Jackson, have resigned or been fired since the federal report was released March 4.

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III and the City Council issued a joint statement saying they support "peaceful protesting" but "will not allow, nor tolerate, the destructive and violent actions of a few to disrupt our unifying actions."
___

Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-16

[NeverSure]

[F430murci]

Wow, big surprise. 20 year old protestor with a criminal record and a warrant for his arrest outstanding for failure to report to probation officer.

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Protester charged with shooting officers in Ferguson

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/15/ferguson-police-shooting-arrest/24808987/

Williams is on probation for receiving stolen property and wanted for failing to report to his probation officer.

http://kplr11.com/2015/03/15/suspect-admits-to-firing-shots-that-struck-two-officers-in-ferguson/

[sdanielmcev]

Another upstanding citizen of Ferguson. Wonder how the libs will spin this one.

[F430murci]

Another upstanding citizen of Ferguson. Wonder how the libs will spin this one.

The KKK made him do it. He was framed. Guilliani did it and set up the poor black man. Donald Trump paid him to do it. It was not his fault due to his oppressive upbringing. One cannot blame him after seeing the way his fellow bloods or crips have been profiled and treated by Five O . . .

Oh, and I am sure Obama and Holder will be looking to charge this as a racially motivated hate crime if the police officer shot were white.

[JDGRUEN]

Another upstanding citizen of Ferguson. Wonder how the libs will spin this one.

It has already begun ... on another thread... the perp was probably not really associated with the protesters and yada yada yada ...

You would think that some of these spinners would get dizzy from all their spinning activity ...

[CMNightRider]

If Obama would have had a son, he would have looked just like the young black man that shot the two police officers.

[NickJ]

He wasnt there to protest.....no he just came to kill police officers. Where can I send donations to Freguson to help have it rebuilt in time for it to be looted and burned down during the next round?

[JDGRUEN]

My summation of the Federal Ferguson Fiasco ...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/805505-officials-us-report-finds-racial-bias-in-ferguson-police/page-11#entry9191115

[NeverSure]

You guys are on a roll and are going to use up all of my likes.

I'm watching American news and surfing and I don't see anything newer than what's posted here.

[FangFerang]

Libs don't need to put any spin on this one. Crap is crap, whatever side of the fence you squat on.

Bad crap leading to stupid crap leading to --you got it--a load of crap.

[Johnnie99]

Hilarious.

The police can shoot people dead with impunity, yet a cop gets his and there's a charge.

[chuckd]

Hilarious.

The police can shoot people dead with impunity, yet a cop gets his and there's a charge.

If you ever need police help, do not call 911...call a protester.

[JDGRUEN]

Hilarious.

The police can shoot people dead with impunity, yet a cop gets his and there's a charge.

The perp who shot the two cops did it deliberately with apparent aforethought - a sniper shooting - he targeted the police it seems. There is more than probably cause to arrest him and charge him with a crime.

The big hulk who attacked the police officer in his patrol car and attempted to take the cop's gun causing it to be fired while the big bad boy had his head and shoulders in the patrol car wrestling with the cop This and the rest of the story has been debated endlessly on other threads ...The Grand Jury made up of local citizens listened to several black citizens who were witnesses - 'No Billed' and made no charge - partly based on state law governing the authorized use of deadly force by a police officer and partly on the testimony of the witnesses.

The situations are not even remotely the same.

Flippant comments add little to the discussion.

[humqdpf]

Just so we are all clear about it:

A police officer who shoots an unarmed man dead does not even get a reprimand.

A civilian shoots two police officers is charged without delay.

[Ulysses G.]

A police officer who shoots an unarmed man dead does not even get a reprimand.

Only if the shooting was ruled justified, which means that a crime was not committed.

[Xircal]

A police officer who shoots an unarmed man dead does not even get a reprimand.

Only if the shooting was ruled justified, which means that a crime was not committed.

Would it be ruled 'justified' in this particular case I wonder: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/family-releases-video-of-dallas-police-fatal-shooting-of-mental-patient.html/

The police were armed with stun guns, yet made no attempt to use them even though the black guy was only waving a pocket size screwdriver around.

Trigger happy cops if you ask me.

[BKKBobby]

We need guns because if we aint allowed to carry conceiled guns then only criminals will have guns... Is that so?

Look at Canada, eh.

Is there an proportional amount of reports of gunrelated crimes in western countries with restricted laws on guns compared to USA?

The problem is easy access of guns in USA for most people which includes people that are a danger to their friends, familys or the society in someway or another.

Theres too many weapons floating around in the US.

Its just that the founding fathers of USA gave the people of USA the right to own guns.

More guns floating around equals more gunrelated crimes.

Someday USA might wake up and stop selling anti-tank armor and other top of the line machineguns that can be used for modern conventional warfare to regular citizens.

Edited March 20, 2015 by BKKBobby

[Bwanatickey]

Well at least his religion was not Muslim.

Friday prayers where quite today.

[neverdie]

A police officer who shoots an unarmed man dead does not even get a reprimand.

Only if the shooting was ruled justified, which means that a crime was not committed.

How can people not understand the basics. Are there really people out there so stupid as to not understand this. How do they actually find their way outside each day ?

[Bwanatickey]

^ they control the World.