White Missouri officer shoots, kills black man who pulled gun

MISSOURI (NEWS1130) – The mayor of a St. Louis, Missouri, suburb is asking for calm following an incident last night in which a white police officer fatally shot a black 18-year-old.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the officer was questioning the 18-year-old and another man about a theft late Tuesday at a convenience store in Berkeley when the young man pulled a 9-mm handgun on him. The officer stumbled backward but fired three shots, one of which struck the victim, Belmar said.

Berkeley is just a few miles from Ferguson, Missouri, where a white police officer fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, on Aug. 9. Brown’s death sparked weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations, and a grand jury’s decision to not charge Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting has spurred a nationwide movement to protest police brutality.

The 34-year-old white police officer, a six-year veteran of the Berkeley Police Department, is on administrative leave pending an investigation, Belmar said. St. Louis County police and the city of Berkeley are investigating, Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said.

“He will carry the weight of this for the rest of his life, certainly for the rest of his career,” Belmar said of the unnamed officer. “There are no winners here.”

The officer wasn’t wearing his body camera and the dashboard camera was not activated because the patrol car’s red lights were not on, Belmar said.

Police released surveillance video from the parking lot outside the store. The nearly two-minute clip shows two young men leaving the store as a patrol car rolls up. The officer gets out and speaks with them. About a minute-and-a-half later, the video appears to show one of the men raising his arm, though what he is holding is difficult to see because they were too far from the camera. Belmar said it was a 9-mm handgun.

Police were searching for the other man, who ran away.

It was the third fatal shooting of a black suspect by a white police officer in the St. Louis area since Brown was killed. Kajaime Powell, 25, was killed Aug. 9 after approaching St. Louis officers with a knife. Vonderrit Myers Jr., 18, was fatally shot Oct. 8 after allegedly shooting at a St. Louis officer.

Each shooting has been met by protests, and a crowd quickly gathered late Tuesday in Berkeley. The demonstration involving about 300 people turned violent.

More than 50 police officers, some in riot gear, responded. Video showed some wrestling with protesters. Belmar said officers used pepper spray but not tear gas. Four people were arrested on charges of assaulting officers.

Belmar said three explosive devices, possibly fireworks, were tossed near gas pumps. Some protesters threw rocks and bricks. One officer was hit by a brick and treated for facial cuts. Another was treated for a leg injury sustained as he tried to escape an explosive.

Last night’s shooting prompted a violent confrontation between about 300 people and 50 police officers, resulting in four arrests.