Police officer shot in area around troubled US city of Ferguson

A police officer from the strife-hit Missouri city of Ferguson was shot on Saturday (Sept 27) and the suspect was still at large, law enforcement officials said.

The officer was shot in the arm and his injuries were not life threatening, the Missouri Department of Public Safety said.

“A search is under way for the suspect in the shooting of the officer,” the Department of Public Safety said, adding the shooting took place at a community centre slightly removed from main protest areas.

Police have set up roadblocks in the area. 

A crowd of about 100 people gathered near the scene with a group breaking off to stage a protest at the Ferguson police headquarters, according to Kareem Jackson, 27, a musician who goes by the stage name Tef Poe and is a member of the activist group HandsUp United.

“People are peaceful as a duck, just literally standing on the side of the street watching,” he said in a phone interview from where protesters were gathered.

Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, saw days of racially charged protests after black teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by white police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9.

On Thursday (Sept 26), Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson issued a video apology to Brown’s parents following weeks of heavy criticism and calls for his ouster.

The apology was not well-received by some and led to reported protests hours after it was issued.

There have been bursts of violence during weeks of protests in Ferguson, a mostly black community of 21,000, since Brown’s death.

Many have called for Jackson to be fired for what they saw as a heavy-handed response in the aftermath of the killing.

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