The prompt release of the surveillance video showing the black teen pointing a gun at the white police officer may have helped defuse tensions a good deal as the second night of protests in Berkeley, Missouri on Wednesday were relatively peaceful compared to the previous night.
Berkeley’s African-American Mayor Theodor Hoskins sought to reassure the city’s predominantly black population, saying this shooting death of 18-year-old Antonio Martin cannot be compared to the other recent episodes of black men dying at the hands of white police officers.“This is not a policeman in the city of Berkeley half-cocked, going out,” said Hoskins, adding: “You couldn’t even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York.” In Ferguson, just a few miles from Berkeley, it was an unarmed Michael Brown who had been gunned down, while in New York, Eric Garner died because of a police chokehold.
The shooting of Brown by police officer Darren Wilson was not captured on video, but the surveillance footage in the Berkeley episode appeared to show Martin pulling a gun on the still-unidentified white officer who questioned him and another man about a theft at a convenience store.Protesters who gathered on Wednesday night at the spot of the shooting near a gas station did not clash with the police by hurling stones and smoke bombs like the previous night. They held a candlelight vigil for the deceased teen. But a group of protesters did march to an Inter-State highway and they blocked traffic for about 45 minutes.
The authorities said the white police officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting. The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) asked the black community to hold peaceful protests while awaiting the results of the investigation.Dealing with the criticism that the police officer could have used a Taser gun or pepper spray against the suspect instead of fatally shooting him, St louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said.