A suburban St. Louis police chief on Friday identified the officer whose fatal shooting of an unarme...

1. Ferguson police say Michael Brown was suspect in robbery
A suburban St. Louis police chief on
Friday identified the officer whose fatal
shooting of an unarmed black teenager
ignited days of heated protests, and
released documents alleging the teen
was killed after a robbery in which he
was suspected of stealing a $48.99 box
of cigars.
Ferguson, Mo., Police Chief Thomas
Jackson said the robbery took place just
before noon on Saturday at a
convenience store roughly 10 minutes
before a police officer identified as
Darren Wilson fired the bullet that killed
Michael Brown. Police say that the shot
was fired after a struggle touched off by
Wilson's confronting Brown. Jackson
said Wilson is a six-year veteran with no
disciplinary action on his record.
At a press conference Friday afternoon,
authorities said the police officer who
shot Brown did not know he was a
robbery suspect at the time.
The news conference came after nearly a
week of sometimes-violent protests and
calls by many, including President
Obama, for local law enforcement to be more transparent about the circumstances surrounding the
shooting. Police previously said they withheld Wilson's identity because of the potential for threats
on the officer and his family. The officer has been on administrative leave since the shooting.
Police released still images and were planning to release video from the robbery, at a QuikTrip store
in Ferguson. Jackson said Wilson, along with other officers, were called to the area after a 911 call
reporting a "strong-arm robbery" at a nearby convenience store. He didn't immediately release
details about the alleged robbery, saying more information would be released later.
Police provided few other details about the police officer at the morning news conference and did
not take any questions. Jackson said Swisher Sweets cigars were stolen in the robbery.

2. According to the police reports, Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were suspected of taking a box
of cigars from a store in Ferguson that morning.
"I am incensed," Laura Keys, 50, told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I can't believe this is the tactic
they are using, bringing up a robbery to make the victim look like he was the person who created
this whole mess."
Police have said Brown was shot after an officer encountered him and another man on the street.
They say one of the men pushed the officer into his squad car, then physically assaulted him in the
vehicle and struggled with the officer over the officer's weapon. At least one shot was fired CrossFit
Coach inside the car before the struggle spilled onto the street, where Brown was shot multiple
times, according to police.
But a much different story has been told by Johnson, who says he was walking down the street with
Brown when he was shot. He has said the officer ordered them out of the street, then grabbed his
friend's neck and tried to pull him into the car before brandishing his weapon and firing. He says
Brown started to run and the officer pursued him, firing multiple times.
WATCH: Minister's explosive Ferguson rant goes viral
The attorney representing Brown's family, Benjamin Crump, said Brown's parents are "incensed" by
what he calls "the old game of smoke and mirrors." He says the family was blind-sided by Friday's
announcement.
Crump says "it's bad enough they assassinated him, and now they're trying to assassinate his
character."
Tensions in Ferguson boiled over after a candlelight vigil Sunday night, as looters smashed and
burned businesses in the neighborhood, where police have repeatedly fired tear gas and smoke
bombs.
But on Thursday, county police in riot gear and armored tanks gave way to state troopers walking
side-by-side with thousands of peaceful protesters. The dramatic shift came after Gov. Jay Nixon
assigned oversight of the protests to the state Highway Patrol, stripping that authority from the St.
Louis County Police Department.
"All they did was look at us and shoot tear gas," Pedro Smith, who has participated in the nightly
protests, said Thursday. "This is totally different. Now we're being treated with respect."
The more tolerant response came as President Obama spoke publicly for the first time about
Saturday's fatal shooting -- and the subsequent violence that shocked the nation and threatened to
tear apart Ferguson, a town of 21,000 that is nearly 70 percent black and patrolled by a nearly all-
white police force.
Nixon's promise to ease the deep racial tensions was swiftly put to the test as demonstrators
gathered again Thursday evening. But the latest protests had a light, almost jubilant atmosphere
among the racially mixed crowd, more akin to a parade or block party.

3. The streets were filled with music, free food and even laughter. When darkness fell -- the point at
which previous protests have grown tense -- no uniformed officers were in sight outside the burned-
out QuikTrip convenience store that had become a flashpoint for standoffs between police and
protesters.
Nixon appointed Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who is black, to lead the police effort. Johnson,
who grew up near Ferguson and commands a region that includes St. Louis County, marched
alongside protesters Thursday, joined by other high-ranking brass from the Highway Patrol as well
as the county department. The marchers also had a police escort.
"We're here to serve and protect," Johnson said. "We're not here to instill fear."
Fox News' Mike Tobin, Edmund DeMarche and The Associated Press contributed to this report
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/15/ferguson-police-say-michael-brown-fit-description-strong-ar
m-robbery-suspect/