FERGUSON, Mo. — Police arrested several people Monday evening after protesters who gathered along West Florissant Avenue refused their instructions to get out of the street.
Around 10:20 p.m. CT, hundreds of protesters started marching into the street. Immediately, police on a loudspeaker told them to move out of traffic. When they didn't comply, officers advanced and took several people into custody, handcuffing them on the ground.
At least one officer also squirted pepper spray into the crowd.
St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger declared a state of emergency earlier Monday after Ferguson protests turned violent Sunday night following the anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer.
"In light of last night's violence and unrest in the city of Ferguson, and the potential for harm to persons and property, I am exercising my authority as county executive to issue a state of emergency effective immediately," Stenger said in a statement. "The recent acts of violence will not be tolerated in a community that has worked so tirelessly over the last year to rebuild and become stronger."
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar immediately took control of policing in Ferguson.
Police in St. Louis on Monday arrested 57 people during protests outside the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse. The demonstrations were part of events dubbed #MoralMonday. Clergy members prayed in front of the building and spread oil on it, saying they were anointing it. The protestors were being processed and released "as quickly as can administratively be accomplished by the United States Marshal Service," U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan said. Terri Dougherty, a U.S. attorney spokesperson, told USA Today protesters arrested outside the federal courthouse face charges of unreasonably obstructing the usual use of an entrance and will be fined $125.
Author and activist Cornel West, along with several prominent protesters including DeRay McKesson, 30, and Johnetta Elzie, 26, were arrested. The demonstration was part of a move by clergy members to purposefully be detained by police.
West and several others jumped over metal barricades around the building and walked toward officers guarding it. The protestors sat directly in front of the building's entrance and police surrounded the group. Moments later, police began ordering people back behind the barricades. They arrested anyone who didn't comply.
Overnight in Ferguson, at least three people were shot and four arrested as peaceful Sunday protests became violent. Belmar told a news conference at 3:30 a.m. that one suspect who was shot by police is in "critical, unstable" condition in a local hospital and undergoing surgery.
Belmar said that after a shootout between at least six people, the suspect ran away but then shot at police who were chasing him in an unmarked vehicle with emergency lights flashing. Four detectives got out of their car and shot at the suspect, hitting him several times, according to police. All four officers have been placed on administrative leave.
"There is a small group of people out there who are intent on making sure we don't have peace that prevails," Belmar said. "That's just the bottom line on this and that's just unfortunate...We can't afford to have this kind of violence."
Moments after the shots were fired, a young woman screamed, "They shot my brother."
St. Louis County Police identified him as Tyrone Harris Jr., of St. Louis. Police charged Harris, 18, with four counts of assault on law enforcement in the first degree, five counts of armed criminal action, and one count of discharging or shooting a firearm at a motor vehicle. Harris, who remained hospitalized and in critical condition, was being held on a $250,000 cash bond
Harris' father, Tyrone Harris, told USA TODAY that his son was close friends with Brown.
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