Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Michael Brown shooting: What started the unrest in Ferguson?

The teenager's death sparked the Black Lives Matter movement

Kashmira Gander

Tuesday 11 August 2015 14:42 BST

Demonstrators, marking the one-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, confront police (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Police have arrested nearly two dozen people in Ferguson, Missouri, as protests marking a year since Michael Browns' death sporadically stretched over the weekend into the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The scenes over the past few days have been reminiscent of the protests and sometimes violent unrest last summer, sparked by white police officer Darren Wilson shooting and killing the unarmed 18-year-old.

His death inspired the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, and provoked a fierce debate over how police treat minorities.

Wilson shot Brown on Canfield Drive at 12:02pm on 9 August 2014. The teenager's body lay on the ground four and a half hours after he was killed, prompting neighbours to accuse the police of mistreating his remains.

A day after Brown was gunned down, protests which followed a candlelight vigil on West Florissant Avenue, next to Canfield Drive, quickly escalated as people smashed windows and looted stores. Protesters would continue returning to the streets for ten consecutive days.

And despite coming under greater scrutiny, Ferguson Police Department responded to even peaceful protests with batons, tear gas and rubber bullets in the aftermath of rioting and arson that tore apart the St. Louis suburb of 21,000 people.

In those ten days, the authorities scrambled to stop people gathering in the streets, with President Barack Obama calling for calm; the state governor declaring a state of emergency and imposing a midnight curfew, and the National Guard descending on the city.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Show all 11

1/11Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Police take a mug shot of a protester who was detained in Ferguson, Missouri, August 10, 2015. Protesters regrouped in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday evening after a state of emergency was declared, aimed at preventing a repeat of violence the night before on the anniversary of the police shooting of unarmed black man Michael Brown.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

St Louis County police officers arrest an anti-police demonstrator in Ferguson, Missouri August 11, 2015

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Protesters march in the rain, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015, in Ferguson, Mo. Sunday marks one year since Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Demonstrators, marking the one-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, march along West Florrisant Street in a driving rain on August 9, 2015 in Ferguson, Missouri. There are reports that two people were shot when gun fire broke out during protests later in the evening. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on August 9, 2014. His death sparked months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and drew nationwide focus on police treatment of black offenders.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

A St. Louis County police officers respond in an MRAD vehicle after shots were fired during a protest march on August 9, 2015 on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri. Over 50 shots were reportedly exchanged on the day marking the one year anniversary of the death of an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by a white police officer, throwing America's troubled race relations into harsh relief.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Protesters yell as police form a line across West Florissant Ave., Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015, in Ferguson, Mo., before shots were fired near the protest. The one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson began with a march in his honor and ended with a protest that was interrupted by gunfire.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Protesters fall to the ground to take cover after shots were fired in a police-officer involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Two people were shot in the midst of a late-night confrontation between riot police and protesters, after a day of peaceful events commemorating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer one year ago.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

A white woman holds a black woman as they pray during a rain storm at the site of last year's riots on the one year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Hundreds of people marched, prayed and observed a moment of silence in Ferguson, Missouri, on Sunday, a year to the day after a white police officer shot the unarmed black teenager to death, igniting months of protests and a national debate on race and justice.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

A woman reacts after shots were fired in a police-officer involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Two people were shot in the midst of a late-night confrontation between riot police and protesters, after a day of peaceful events commemorating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer one year ago.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Police take cover as a barrage of gunfire erupts along West Florrisant Street during a demonstration to mark the 1-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, 2015 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on August 9, 2014. His death sparked months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and drew nationwide focus on police treatment of black offenders.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Ferguson Anniversary Protests

Amarion Allen, 11-years-old stands in front of a police line shortly before shots were fired in a police-officer involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Two people were shot in the midst of a late-night confrontation between riot police and protesters, after a day of peaceful events commemorating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer one year ago.

Further unrest erupted in November 2014, when a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson.

A damning Justice Department report issued in March accused the Ferguson Police Department of illegal and discriminatory enforcement actions that particularly exploited African-Americans.

Additional reporting by Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies