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Berkeley, Missouri, shooting death of black teen reignites clashes with police

Another questionable shooting in St. Louis County.

Photo of Eric Geller

Eric Geller

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A white police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old black man while responding to a report of a theft in Berkeley, Mo., late Tuesday night, reigniting tensions with the public. 

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The incident marks the first officer-involved shooting in St. Louis County since the Aug. 9 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters in a press conference early Wednesday morning that the officer fired three shots at the young man after seeing him raise a gun. He claimed that the officer did not have time to use his Taser instead.

“Bad choices were made,” Belmar said.

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The name of the victim has not been released, but St. Louis resident Toni Martin said it was her son Antonio.

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Belmar said the victim was “known to law enforcement” for several assault and weapons charges.

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The shooting, which took place just two miles from Ferguson, sparked a spontaneous protest of around 200 people late Tuesday night, NBC News reports. Trash cans were lit on fire, and several people were reportedly arrested.

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Police body-camera advocates have suggested that the devices could help the police department resolve questions over the sequence of events. The officer was wearing a body camera, Belmar said, but it was switched off.

The police department has released the surveillance video recorded at a Mobil gas station where the theft report originated. At 1:39 in the video, the surveillance footage freezes, and a man can be seen raising his arm in the top-left corner of the frame, directly to the right of the “CAMERA29” label.

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On Twitter, some are questioning the official version of events, suggesting that the gun spotted at the scene in the aftermath was placed there to support the white officer’s story.

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Police are looking for a friend of the victim who they are calling a key witness to Tuesday night’s events. The officer has been placed on leave.

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Photo via André Carrotflower/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0)

 
The Daily Dot