Tense peace in Ferguson after police shot
FERGUSON, Missouri -- About 50 people gathered at a public plaza in downtown Ferguson near the police station for a vigil, Thursday evening, a night after two policemen were shot and wounded during a demonstration in the same spot.
The protest was prompted by the resignation of Ferguson's police chief, the latest official to leave office following a scathing federal report accusing Ferguson courts and police of racial bias.
The group sang spirituals Thursday night and prayed for peace as the St. Louis suburb seeks changes in the wake of a withering Justice Department report on racial bias in its law-enforcement practices.
Speakers, including several members of the state's Ferguson Commission, expressed sympathies for the injured officers. They also reiterated their resolve to continue fighting for systemic change, more than seven months after the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer.
"We will not be derailed in the pursuit of justice by anybody or anything that wants to get in our way," the Rev. Traci Blackmon said, her voice cracking with emotion as she spoke.
As CBS News' Dean Reynolds reports, it was officers from St. Louis County and the Missouri Highway Patrol in charge of crowd control Thursday night -- not the local Ferguson police.
"We are trying to deescalate things," said St. Louis County Police Lt. Jerry Lohr, adding that his officers "want to start making progress forward and in order to do that, you know we have to give a little bit."
Reynolds said the heavy riot gear worn by officers 24 hours before was noticably absent.
St. Louis County police spokesman Brian Schellman says several people were taken into custody Thursday at a house about three-quarters of a mile from the shooting scene near Ferguson police headquarters.
Schellman didn't say how many people were questioned, but he says all had been released by Thursday evening and no one had been arrested.
Meanwhile, the Missouri State Highway Patrol was sending more troopers to Ferguson.
Gov. Jay Nixon announced the additional help Thursday, but his office wouldn't say how many additional officers were being sent in to help.
The Democratic governor says he spoke with the county executive and local police officials over the phone, though details weren't released. Nixon says he's monitoring the situation and will stay in contact with local leaders.