By Michael Hernandez
ST. LOUIS
A four-day stretch of protests began Friday in St. Louis following the shooting of a black man by a white police officer here Wednesday.
Vonderitt Myers, 18, was shot Wednesday by an off-duty police officer in the Shaw neighborhood of St. Louis after police say he opened fire on the officer. Myers’ family maintains that he was unarmed at the time he was shot and killed.
His death comes just two months after another black man was shot and killed by a white police officer just a few miles from this latest shooting.
Michael Brown, also 18, was killed during a confrontation with white police officer Darren Wilson in the suburb of Ferguson. His death sparked weeks of protests that brought thousands to the area where he was killed.
Organizers have called for a ‘Weekend of Resistance’ with four days of events scheduled Friday through Monday. Thousands are expected to attend, and a Saturday march through downtown St. Louis is expected to draw large crowds.
On Friday afternoon more than three hundred protesters flocked to the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton, the county seat of St. Louis County, to march on the office of the official who will prosecute Michael Brown’s case.
Organizers originally expected thousands to show up, but a cold rain greatly reduced turnout. Protesters defied the chilly, wet weather to speak out about what they say is systematic injustice, and to call for unity among their communities.
"I'm out here today to march with these young protesters who have done such a wonderful job these past two months," said Mary Gene Boteler, a pastor at Second Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. "We must build a community in which all people have equal rights."
Amidst familiar chanting of "No justice, no peace," and "Hands up, don't shoot," Geray Reese, a 26 year-old resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, said he was upset when he heard news of Myers' death because "ultimately what are we doing wrong out here?," he asked rhetorically.
"It's not just the police force. It's very institutionalized. There's a lot of issues we have to cover," he said.
Later Friday night hundreds of people marched on the Ferguson Police Department, stopping just inches short of a police line as officers stood phalanx, some clad in riot gear.
As they chanted slogans such as "Got my hands on my head, please don’t shoot me dead," and "Killer cops, KKK, how many kids did you kill today?" a group of protesters carried a mirrored coffin in memory of Brown to the frontline.
Despite the tense atmosphere, there were none of the violent clashes seen in protests in the St. Louis suburb two months ago, on Friday night.
Coming all the way from Venice Beach, California for the demonstrations, Jodie Evans insisted that now is the time for people to act.
"We can't let this happen -- where there are Fergusons, where there are moments when the consciousness of this country is waking up and saying ‘oh my God, something is happening,’ we have to all show up and say ‘no more.’"
Friday night's demonstration gradually broke up as protesters prepared to take to the streets of downtown St. Louis on Saturday morning.
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