Attorney General to visit Ferguson

20 August 2014 Last updated at 13:00

US Attorney General Eric Holder is due in the town of Ferguson, Missouri, to defuse tensions following the police shooting of a black teenager.

Mr Holder promised a "full, fair and independent" investigation.

Ferguson has seen 10 nights of often violent clashes between police and demonstrators since the shooting of Michael Brown, who was unarmed.

Police arrested 47 people during a protest on Tuesday night but said that the violence had largely abated.

Community leaders have continued to appeal for calm and healing.

'Inflaming tensions'

In an open letter published in the St Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday, Mr Holder said that the justice department "will defend the right of protesters to peacefully demonstrate".

However, he added that "violence cannot be condoned" and urged Ferguson residents to condemn "the actions of looters, vandals and others seeking to inflame tensions and sow discord".

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Ferguson police captain: "Tonight we saw a different dynamic... there were no Molotov cocktails tonight, there were no shootings"

He said violent acts had been committed by "a very small minority, in many cases individuals from outside Ferguson".

Reports suggest that Mr Holder is considering opening a broader investigation into policing in Ferguson in general, following several allegations of police misconduct.

The New York Times reports that under Mr Holder, the Justice Department has ordered over twice as many such department-wide investigations than before.

Heavy-handed

Many local residents believe officer Darren Wilson, who shot Michael Brown, has not been punished. He has been placed on administrative leave.

Witnesses have said Mr Brown was shot as he held his hands up in a position of surrender, while the police and supporters of Mr Wilson have said he fired during a fight with Mr Brown.

The police response, flooding the town with hundreds of officers in riot gear, has been criticised as heavy-handed.

Authorities were also criticised for not being transparent enough in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

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A new poll by the Pew Research Center has found US reaction to the police killing of Michael Brown falls along distinct racial lines.

The St Louis county prosecutor's office said it would present evidence against Mr Wilson to a grand jury on Wednesday.

The jury will determine whether or not to charge him with a crime.

Both St Louis officials and the US justice department are conducting investigations into the case, which has provoked demonstrations throughout the country.

Protests subdued

Police in Ferguson said they arrested 47 people on Tuesday night following a largely peaceful protest.

Missouri Highway Patrol Capt Ron Johnson, who has led the police response since Thursday, said that the protest began without trouble but that during the night some protesters threw bottles of water and urine at police.

"As of 01:00 (06:00 GMT), we have 47 arrests," he said.

However, he stressed that police had not been fired upon and that they did not use tear gas on protesters. "Tonight we saw a different dynamic," he said.

"Tonight the elders in this community, volunteers, activists and the clergy came out in large numbers. They walked, they talked with people. They urged order and common peace", Capt Johnson said.

The relative calm is in contrast to Monday night's violence when Capt Johnson said police came under "heavy gunfire" and responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

This was despite the deployment of National Guard units in the town on Monday.

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Vienna Simmonds, whose son was fatally shot in 2008, says there is "no justice being done" for those killed

The police shot another black man on Tuesday in St Louis, in an incident many feared could exacerbate the tension in Ferguson.

He was suspected of robbery, and had approached them brandishing a knife. The second shooting has so far had little or no impact on the protests in Ferguson.

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