BERKELEY, Mo. (AP) – The mayor of the St Louis suburb of Berkeley urged calm today after a white police officer killed a black 18-year-old who police said pointed a gun at him, reigniting tensions that have lingered since the death of Michael Brown in neighbouring Ferguson.
A crowd of about 300 people gathered at the gas station where Antonio Martin was shot late yesterday, throwing rocks and bricks in a scene reminiscent of the sometimes-violent protests that followed Brown’s death.
But unlike the shooting of Brown, which was not captured on video, Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said surveillance footage appeared to show Martin pulling a gun on the unidentified 34-year-old officer who questioned him and another man about a theft at a convenience store. Brown was unarmed.
“You couldn’t even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York,” Hoskins said, referring to the chokehold death of Eric Garner, another black man killed by a white police officer.
Hoskins, who is black, also noted that unlike in Ferguson – where a mostly white police force serves a mostly black community – more than half of the officers in his city of 9 000 are black, including top command staff.
St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar did not provide more details about the theft Martin was being asked about. He said Martin pulled a loaded 9mm handgun and the officer fired three shots while stumbling backward. One hit Martin, who didn’t fire his own gun. He died at the scene.
“I don’t know why the guy didn’t get a shot off, whether his gun jammed or he couldn’t get the safety off,” said attorney Brian Millikan, who is representing the officer. He said that the officer was lucky to be alive and certain he had no choice but to use lethal force.
Police throughout the country have been on alert since two New York officers were gunned down in an ambush last weekend by a man who had made threatening posts online about killing police. He later killed himself.
St Louis County police and the city of Berkeley are investigating the shooting of Martin, which Belmar called a tragedy for both Martin’s family and the officer, who has been on the force for six years.
The officer wasn’t wearing his body camera, and his cruiser’s dashboard camera was not activated because the car’s emergency lights were not on, Belmar said.
Police released surveillance video clips from three different angles. The men can be seen leaving the store as a patrol car drives up. The officer gets out and speaks with them.
About 90 seconds later, one appears to raise his arm, though it’s difficult to see what he’s holding because they were several feet from the camera. Belmar said it was a 9mm handgun with one round in the chamber and five more in the magazine.
Police were searching today for the other man, who ran away.
Belmar said Martin had a criminal record that included three assault charges, plus charges of armed robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
Phone messages left for his parents were not returned. His mother, Toni Martin-Green, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that Antonio was the oldest of four children.
