circumstance dictate who you are as a person >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america this is "al jazeera america" live from new york city. i am tony harris with a look at today's top stories. new details about the shooting in ferguson, missouri. police say 18-year-old michael brown was involved in a convenience store robbery but admit the officer who shot and killed him did not know anything about that will robbery. the man tapped to be the next prime minister in iran has just three weeks to form a new government. the governor of new hampshire:

the shooting death of michael brown, police released this saying brown robbed convenience store but officer wilson did not know brown was a robbery suspect. brown's family says releasing the video is an attempt to divert attention from the shooting. >> when you have witnesses saying an officer shot an unarmed person with their hands up as a universal sign of surrender, that is so deeply disturbing, it should rivet around the globe. let me tell you what i think about when you see this. you have some of the most harden criminals that when they gave this sign, they were taken into

custody peacefully. >> diane esterbrook, what did we learn about what happened the day of the shooting? >> reporter: well, what we know today, tony, is that there was a robbery that took place a minute, maybe 20 minutes before the actual shooting. we know that it happened at a convenience store, that there was surveillance video and the police -- and the police indicated that he was a suspect in that. >> okay. we are clearly having issues. diane, can you hear me? we will come back to you if you can hear us. can you? >> reporter: well, tony, what we learned today was that shortly before the shooting took place, there was a strong-armed robbery at the convenience store and michael brown and his

companion were a suspect in the shooting and later on, there was the shooting. it seemed earlier today when chief jackson that the two were linked. later in the day, he said the two were not linked, that the officer who shot michael brown didn't know that he was a suspect, that he was -- he actually stopped him because he was walking in the middle of the street. this has really added to a lot of the con fusion we have heard about a lack of transparency. >> that's what led to outrage in area residents and in michael brown's family. >> and diane, can you tell us a bit more about what michael brown's family is actually sayi saying. >> they are saying this is a case of blaming the victim. they say this is an instance of them bringing out the information today, deflecting attention away from the police officer and painting their son

in a negative light. there was a press conference later this afternoon, and his cousin really expressed outrage and disappointment with the way -- well, they are outraged by this, tony. they are outraged by the fact that they think what the police did today is deflecting attention away from the officer, officer wilson, and painting their son, their relative, in a negative light. >> let's do, diane. let's do this because we are having all kind of communication problems. so let's roll the sound byte from earlier in the day to figure out what's going on, on the backside. let's roll that. >> whatever took place there had nothing to do with an individual getting down on his hands and knees, raising his hands in the air and saying, "don't shoot." this is a universal call for i surrender and i can hear my cousin's voice right now as i speak saying "don't shoot."

the officer stepped to him and shot him is what we heard. >> okay. i don't know what the heck is going on here, diane esterbrook, let's move on. joining me is leo mcguire, the sheriff of the county where he oversaw 550 law enforcement personnel. sheriff, it's good to see you. it's good to have you on the program. why did you release -- why do you release the video on the same day that you release the name of the officer who was involved in the shooting? now, as you know, the community has been clamoring for this name and felt it should have been released earlier. can you attempt to put an end to the mindset? maybe you would have done things differently. can you at least -- i want to try to understand it from the point of view of the ferguson police department, if it was political, then it's political.

if it's something else, if united states strategic, it's strategic. why release the video and the name of the police officer at the same time? >> it may be that there is fundamental fairness involved because once the officer's name is released, everyone is going to be clamoring for his personnel records, any disciplinaries to come to a conclusion about the officer. well, if the officer had some deportment issues, that's why he attacked michael brown. by the same time, releasing any of this information about the robbery, the robbery, only five or six minutes before this altercation with the police officer, then you would develop conclusions about michael brown as well. bringing them out at the same time kind of evenings it out and allows the public to recognize that law enforcement is taking the investigation in its due course, not being too hasty, being judicious and being careful about not only what they release but what they are

implicating. >> maybe i suggest it's not a balanced approach because the minute we have a name of the officer -- we don't have a photograph 69 officer that i am aware of yet, but the minnilt you release the video and particularly the stills, it feels like -- and i want you to take this on a feels like, that the officers there, the chief in ferguson is putting his thumb on the scale and is changing the narrative of the story. the video, the pictures in particular seem particularly negative and damning. i would suggest to you in releasing the material in this way, the chief is putting his t thumb on the scale and that all of the attention and the questions in the press conference were about the video and about michael brown and very little is mentioned about the officer. just what are your thoughts? >> i think you have a point. however, when you look from the public safety perspective: what are we doing?

what are we doing that could inflame the situation further? it was already at the highest level it could possibly be. thank goodness, no additional people were hurt over the past week. but it was quite out of control for several days. >> that's why the state police have been brought in, the state highway patrol and seeing some positive, positive developments over the past day and a half. however, no one is disputing that a shooting happened. what we need to find out is: what actually happened? it's important in an investigation to know what happened, just prior to an incident so we know what michael brown's thought process was. maybe michael brown thought that the officer knew he was the one who just did a robbery, he is 18 years old and doesn't want to go to jail that night. so maybe when the officer approached him, the officer has no idea that michael brown might be a dangerous suspect. >> if he had, would the officer -- would the officer have approached that arrest,

that confrontation differently if he knew that perhaps he was looking at a robbery suspect instead of a kid who was blocking the road? >> absolutely. you know, by all accounts, the officer pulled up in his vehicle next to two young men, get out of the street, how he characterized that is in dispute by the witness. so that was just a casual, pull up. hey, guys, get out of the street. it's a dangerous situation. what happened next? >> what we don't know. >> yes. >> we need to know if during this investigation whether there was video surveillance of any businesses and homes in the area. i am sure they have already canvassed that. they are already collecting any other individual yes evidence, looking to see what there is. if there is, that should be released, to be fundamentally fair as they are putting out some of this invest gattory evidence that they are going to be presenting but not in a way as you observed? >> right.

>> in a thumb on the scale. facts are facts and let the public, let the grand jury and the event annual jury in this case make the right decision. >> there was nothing to justify there is nothing to say if the facts bear out that this young man was standing in front of the officer with hands raised in what is the universal sign of, hey, i surrender. would you agree with me that there would be nothing to defy this young man being fired upon at that particular moment? >> there is two -- there is two issues here that i see from what i have seen thus far. one, the altercation in and around the police car where the officer may have been justified in using deadly force to protect himself from an -- >> at that moment? >> in that moment but then michael brown gets away. whatever the altercation was. let's say one shot was fired. now michael brown runs 35 feet away, he gets shot again as he is fleeing.

>> could be a problem. and then when he is acquiescing to the demands of the law enforcement officer, whether his hands are up or not, he stopped. >> officer shouldn't be continuing to fire unless he recognizes that there is a threat to his life at that moment or a threat to others. >> that's when it's going to be. he should have been stopped. >> that's when he needed to be on the radio calling for assistance and needed to be ensuring that the use of force was appropriate at the appropriate moment. and here is where the potential problem may be. but again, we have to wait and see what the facts are. >> leo mcguire was the sheriff of bergen county, the police is for and oversaw 550 law enforcement personnel. earlier i spoke with maria nadal and asked her about whether or not michael brown may have been involved in a robbery changes

the narrative surrounding his death. >> for some people, absolutely, it does. we have been talking to folks who don't live in this and say they think a little bit differently about this whole scenario but for a community that has been threatened and intimidated on so many occasions by police officers, this is something that they have always been insulted by police officers, but they are more interested in: why was michael brown killed by a police officer and he didn't get due process? every american gets due process if they do something wrong, and that's what these people who live in my community and this community, they are not stupid. they are saying, no, it's not equal. >> so what is going on with the ferguson police department? it seems pretty clear to an outsider looking from the outside, in, that there was not muchn interaction at all, which means the ferguson police are met and the black community there are ferguson in the days, the weeks, the months or even

the years before this incident. what has been going on in that relationship, and has anyone, have you tried to bridge that disconnect? >> well, you know what? let me just tell you this incident caused everyone to reflect on what they have done in the past and what they are doing currently. i will tell you that the ferguson police department needs to do a better job at, one, addressing diversity within the police department. this police department should be reflective of what people look like in this community. secondly, the ferguson police department needs to do a better job at having diversity training and ensuring that every single officer that's on the street has the opportunity to really have genuine relationships built on trust no, intimidation, no harassment, but what people in this community are looking for are genuine relationships, and that hasn't happened t hasn't occurred. i think the death of michael

brown is changing the name of the game here i think everyone is going to move forward differently. we also want an active civil review board so that citizenship can look at all of the facts. but one more thing that this communitity wants. they want the technology in place that allow them to be able to hear and see all of the interactions between an officer and someone who they may be tracking for an arrest or otherwise. >> captain ron johnson, the man who is now in charge of security in ferguson made a rare gesture at a press conference earlier. he invited ferguson residents to ask questions alongside reporters. >> led to a candid conversation about the challenges ferguson now faces? >> we know this isn't a perfect world. you say you know every barber in the hood. okay. that's the kind of world when you go home and see your kids tonight, when i got home, my

daughter sent me this, daddy, were you scared? and i said, just a little bit. and she said, daddy, i want you to remember when jesus walked on the water. she said, when peter got scared, jesus picked him up and said, have the faith. and i am telling you today, we need to be just like peter because i know we are scared. and i know we have fallen, but he is going to pick us up and he is going to pick this community up. >> last night was the first night of peaceful protests. many attribute the calm to that man you just saw there, captain johnson. now, joini he joined the highwa patrol and in 2002, he was promoted of captain of troop c which overseas 11 counties including st. louis. johnson was only 39 years old at the time. he motions are running high in that community. as we mentioned, many people including brown's family say the police department is trying to discredited brown's character and divert attention away from

the shooting. usher karishi joins us. how is the community reacting to the extraordinary back and forth from the police today about the robbery? >> reporter: well, tony, clearly mixed reaction here in ferguson. on the one hand, residents and protesters got one piece of information that they have been demanding for days now, the name of the officer who shot michael brown. they did not get that today, but they also questioned the semester release of that video footage and itchages of what is purported to be michael brown committing a robbery. since we heard from the police chief of ferguson this afternoon that that was not the reason why he was stopped in the street in the first place. so a lot of people questioning: what exactly was the purpose of releasing that information at the same time as releasing the name of that officer? and as you turned upon, a lot of people saying this is an opportunity that they are exploit to go reframe the narrative. listen to what a couple of people had to say about what was

too much information. >> what we wanted was a name, not all of the rest. we wanted the name of the officer. that was the purpose of the press conference. >> that's further -- that's why we distrust. >> that's where the deep distrust comes from because we feel like it was a conspiracy. >> i just want fairness. i just want the police to be fair. not just this community. until all of our communities. >> as you have been reporting, michael brown's family reacting to the news that they not only released the name of that police officer. they also released the images calling it an attempt at character assassination, trying to cast doubt and darkness on who michael brown was, when it has no significance, they say, in the terms of how he was actually shot. >> all right. ash dash -- ar, let's talk will calm streets. ron johnson, the head 50

security from the highway patrol. he said things calmed down. what about tonight? still the case? calm scene? >> absolutely. i think pretty calm today. the tone is different. you can see the crowd gathering behind me. they are not here for me. they are here for captain ron johnson. every time he comes through this area, people surround him. they try to sake his hand, hug him. >> that's not something we have seen in terms of a relationship that's been building between the police and the protesters over the last few days. it is a marked difference in the tone and the atmosphere here on the ground in ferguson and even though this information has come out today, it's a question as to whether or not this will translate to violence in the streets. so far, it doesn't have that same tense feel that we have had in previous to nights before the minutes emissouri highway patro. >> including the night where you were tear gassed.

thank you, you know, there are homes tonight that iraqi practice -- hopes that nouri al-malaki will present the country from splitting apart but he will have to unite shia, sunni and kurdish faxes that distrust each other while trying to stop a rebel offensive in the north. zana hadar? >> it is a power struggle now that nouri al-malaki has relinquished power but the iraqi c capitol is still violent. there are bombings nearly every day. the people are hopeful a peaceful transition of power will help bring about security. >> it gives education that al-malaki is keen to preserve the safety of iraqis and iraq. >> a call for a new beginning from iraq's most influential

cleric who said the transition is a rare opportunity to resolve the political problems. >> now, all eyes are on hider, the new prime minister sten sister who wants an inclusive government. it will be a challenging attack. al-malaki has been accused of consolidating power and alienating kurds. he will have to reach out to all political parties. he will need the support of these men who don't recognize the sunni fliingsz baghdad. they are prominents and tribal leaders who hold sway on the ground. they welcome al-malaki's departure but said it won't end the crisis. they believe the solution is in a federal iraq where sunnis would be able to governthane their own territories. >> translator: we are ready to cooperate with the new government only if sunnis get their rights. our priority is to stop government attacks against our areas and top disarm shia

malitias. they are more dangerous than the islamic state group. we will not fight that group unless our demands are met. . >> for now, the government is relying on those to protect from the islamic state group. they took control of much of "the sun"ni hartland including the oil fields and the iraqi army which abandoned their positions and weapons hasn't recaptured that territory. >> the international community is hoping a united iraqi with defeat. zeina hodr, erbil. >> the ukraine says they destroyed russian militants. the latest on contradictory claims. the panama hotel, ali vvelshi nt

from "real money" to explain. become a flashpoint >> joie chen reports live flashpoint: ferguson special coverage continues on al jazeera america

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ukraine says forces have destroyed russian vehicles that crossed the border. moscow denied the card but it could make a tense situation worse. international leaders accuse russia of planning an evasion to help separatists in eastern ukraine. russia says it is delivering aid. emma hayward is in slovyansk with the latest. >> reporter: this came from poroshenko's office, the ukrainian president who had apparently had a telephone conversation with david cameron in which he said they hadn't entered ukrainian -- that they had entered ukrainian territory and been destroyed. this would be a significant step in this 4-month battle here in eastern ukraine. russia has flatly denied sending in those military vehicles and has had a campaign in the east of ukraine by separatists. the other convoy, what russia said is an aid convoy is still

that on the russian side of the border earlier today, a ukrainian border guards went to inspect it t we still don't know when and if it will come to ukrainian territory. ♪. >> the panama canaloked its locks 100 years ago. as the waterway celebrates, it is forging ahead with a multi-billion dollar expense. ali velshi joins us. good friday, and give us a bit of a history lesson here how did they revolutionize international trade? >> it was a century ago. it was it was a shortcut and there was no northwest passage at the time. you had to go the other way around. one of the more asian ships could park on the west coast of america and unload. that's why we have the rail and truck system that we've got in america. but one the most ambitious projects in history at the time. it cuts 50 miles across the tiny

central american country of panama. it took nearly 40 years to build b 26,000 workers died. those are the people who took mainly from malaria. when it opened, it changed international shipping trade forever. it transformed panama into a global shipping hub, the one you think about more than any other. it handle did about 5 percent of the world's commercial shipments but hopes to claim more. they are expanding the canal. the expanded canal is going to open in about 2015. next year sometime. >> the canal is under going a major expansion, and what's driving it? >> just like me, torque, we get bigger all the time. the canal is just too narrow for today's massive ships. we ship more than we used to. they are these craters that use goods to move from the asia to the united states and can't get to the east coast. they have to doc on the west coast ports.

currentlying about 30% of that asian traffic travels through the suez canal in egypt. all the way around india, through the mediterranean across the atlantic. when this new panama canal opens, it will be able to accommodate ships that are 20 feet longer and likely 50% wider than the biggest ships in used to. given the choice, some future shippers may opt to go through panama as opposed to the su easy cappal, saving a lot of fuel. >> is this true, the chinese are back agnew canal in nicaragua? and how might that impact the plans of panama? >> look. they are close to each other. last month, nicaraguan president submitted a 100-year partnership with a chinese company to build a new canal. it's a $49 billion project. it's designed -- by the way, the expansion of the panama canal is a 4 nigh billion dollar built

for the panamcs. 5 times larger than the sues canally, bigger than the panama canal as well. it could transform nicaragua's economy. it could criminal trade in egypt and panama. jake ward joins me on "real money" with that story. >> terrific. ali velshi, "real money" top of the hour on "al jazeera america." coming up, we will speak with the attorney for michael brown's friend. his version of events and in the wake of protests in ferguson. one lawmaker trying to stop a government program that sends free military equipment like machine guns to local please.

>> you know, there are conflicting reports on what happened when michael brown was shot to death. ferguson pd says the officer who shot and killed him didn't know he was a spus respect. friends and family say the pd is trying to discredited the 18-year-old joie chin has been on the ground coveringents. life tells us very few things happen in a vacuum, spontaneously. what have you learned about the roots of the conflict that we are watching on television? >> reporter: tony, it is quite a story developing. we are at the quick trip where a lot of the protest took place. as you can see, captain johnson,

the state highway patrol captain who has now been appointed the head of security in ferguson and around the community as well. he is coordinating and become something of a rock star in this area. people having their picture made with him. they are very concerned. they are trying to keep him in the center of this conversation. they want to make sure it stays under control and the relationships between the community and law enforcement in the ferguson and north county area stay together and under control particularly going in to this weekend and going in to tomorrow, which will be the one week anniversary of michael brown's death. >> how would you characterize the mood there in ferguson since the time you have been there since earlier this week? >> reporter: tony, you saw earlier this week when our correspondent, ash har quereshi

were concerned. things have calmed down significantly. last night, we saw a very large demonstration take place, a lot of folks out in the street, a lot of noise, a lot of shouting. definitely a non-violent scene. as captain johnson said earlier in the day, there was no gas used, no rubber bullets, the whole tempo of the environment changed but there were some concerns earlier in the day when the announcement was made about the officer, the name of the officer who was involved directly in the shooting as well as some other information that you noted that was released by the ferguson police earlier in the day, that that aroused a lot of tension, a lot of anxiety in the community. so we see captain johnson here talking again. people of the community trying to get a fix on what the emotions are here as well. there is a lot of sense that things could turn bad. we would like to keep that from happening. >> yeah. joie, look. it seems clear to me.

i don't know if it's clear to you, just from the reaction since this happened, the news conferences and the tone of the news conferences that the ferguson police department hasn't spent a lot of time in that community talking to members of that community and building bridges. has the city always been divided? >> light. interesting you bring up history. history is a big part of the story as it turns out. >> that's the thing we'll cover on "america tonight" in a couple of hours. if anythingson is close to a community called kenlock, the first all-black community in the state of missouri, founded in the late 1800s. and what happened to that community, if i can offer a bit of after piece, really paved the way for some of the tens that have grown up in the north part of st. louis. we are going to look into that and understand how that history

relates pretty directly to the death of michael brown. >> pretty interesting. speaking to community leaders that you have had an opportunity to chat with while you are there, how do you see this community kind of overcoming the events of this week? >> i think that is the thing everyone is struggling with now. they know whether it says the community or not, it is going to be resolved one way after that. after that, amount of the amount of tension that has built up here, after the issues that have come up on the table at this point, how do you bring the community back together, and how do you move forward? a lot of people talking about how do you work wit young people in this community? how do you get people more involved in the political process so they find voices for themselves and learn to be able to speak out for themselves an not in a destructive way? there is a lot of people here, a lot of issues being raised. people really are trying to work that out even now. >> joie, that's terrific.

i can't wait. >> that's lovely. i can't wait to see the reporting tonight with joie chen with "america tonight." good to see you. thank you. if you would like to see more of her reporting, i know you will later on in a special edition of "america tonight" right here on al jazeera. so, the debate over the clashes in ferguson missouri heading all the way to capital hill right now. david shuster joins us with today's power politics. david? >> tony, several lawmakers are demanding hearings on the press release -- the previous reaction, john conyers is already directing committee staff and resources to prepare for a hearing. representative hank johnson, democrat from georgia, has now introduced legislation that would stop a government program that sends free military equipment, including machine guns, from the department of defense to local police. both efforts are gaining support in the u.s. senate. some of the harshest criticism

69 st. louis county police department actions on tuesday and wednesday night have come from missouri senator claire mccask cal. the democrat has repeatedly said even with remarks of reporters that the police have been part of the problem, not part of the solution. >> i have been working to try to demil tar eyes the police response over the last 24 hours, and i want to make sure that the people i work for understand that i want them to have safety as they exercise their c constitutional rights to protest. it's heartbreaking. i love this community, and i know the people of this community and the way they are being portrayed is terribly unfair to them. >> among the 2016 presidential candidates are likely candidates, some of the most interesting reaction has come from kentucky senator rand paul who just published an op-ed and said if i had been told to get off of the street as a teenager,

there would have been a cities tink possibility i would have smarted off. but i wouldn't have expected to be shot. he goes on, demilitarization says the current situation, the situation the other night, is the product of big government. quote, washington has not incentivized local police precincts by using federal dochlts build what are essentially small armies where police departments compete for military gear goes far beyond what most americans think of as law enforcement. senator ted cruz was also considering a reason for president in 2016 has joined the criticism of police tactics proves reporters should never be detained. a free press is too important simply for doing their jobs. republicans have been warning for years government agencies at the national and local level are becoming too powerful and irresponsible and political, the

events at ferguson have strengthened the libertarian presidential candidates, at least to the extent that paul or cruz decide to run. >> we appreciate it. good weekend to you. thank you. today's politics. taking a look at news around the world now in nigeria, suspected boko haram fighters have abducted boys and men, as many as 97 people were taken during the attack that happened on sunday. six older men were over the raid. they kidnapped more than 200 young girls in march and boko haram is trying to establish a hard line islamic ideology. in india the prime minister told parents to start focusing on disciplining their songs. modi spoke off of the cuff. he, an issue of civil violence, he called it a source of shame for india. he said the country's ougattitu

puts too much blame on women instead of on their attackers and in china, land seizures by government are turning increasingly violent. one of the latest confrontations was in an area hit by an earthquake almost two weeks ago. protesters are appealing to the president to intervene. adrienne brown now from western china. >> it is is the only way of life thing. farmers from the same families have eked out a living from these fields for decades, growing greens and potatoes mostly. after so long, they thought this way of life would never change. all over china, development and not land rights are the priority now. >> the land belongs to us. we must protect it. the party leader said he would beat us farmers to death. >> the land grab began five years ago. crops cover fields they once

cult -- shops cover fields they once cultivated. developers are closing in on the farmers' only patch of land. the dispute is turning violent. >> hay fu shin's arm hangs uselessly. she said it does after police beat her. >> they looks a bullet. they had me locked up for five days. even the police felt sorry for me. i am really coming to go a dead-end. >> reporter: they think talking to a foreign reporter can help them resolve their dispute. they are begging us to help. the local media has been warned off. the farmers, all of them women, have the same complaint: the land was taken, and with little compensation. they feel cheated. the president, please help us, says the banner. corrupt officials took the land. please deal with those officials. >> the resistance is being led

by ma lu chong showing me photographs of recent confrontation with the police which earned with her being detained for five days. >> translator: even if i am beaten to death, i have to tell the w40e8 country and the whole world that the local officials abused their power and bully us poor people. >> reporter: this town is barely a spec on china's map, but land seizures by local governments are taking place all across the country. it is an emotional issue. no more so than in thisplation. we contacted the local government, but officials refused to talk to us. the protesters meanwhile are digging in. they set up a guard post to ward off police and they still have faith their president will help them. >> i want to say to the president, please give back our land that has been grabbed by the local government. >> land was given to us by our ancestors. >> reporter: but in china, most

land is always owned by local people. selling it is their main source of income. and out dated laws mean that these farmers and others like them can do little to stop it. adrian brown, al jazeera, in wengping china. >> two amish girls have been safe after being reducted. >> story and other headlines across next. >> reporter: the two girls were taken from the side of the road on their family's farm in the state of new york. police say 12-year-old taken miller and 6-year-old alila were dropped off in a small village and then walked to the closest house they saw. >> the residents knew who they were by how they were dressed and the media attention. the girls asked them to take them home and that's what they did. >> police faced an unusual challenge in their search. there are no photographs of the girls since most ami. h aren't allowed to have their picture taken.

the sheriff said investigators are following up on a number of suspect leads. a utah woman is in critical condition after drinking sweet tea from a barbecue restaurant. 67-year-old jen harding ordered a sweet tea at dickie barbecue put on sunday over the weekend. police say that sweet tea was two-thirds cool of a chemical solution typically used to clean deep fryer equipment. it looks similar to sugar. >> she she took a sip and merely coughed it out and spat it out and her first words to her husband were: i think i just drank acid. either the store manager or the employee put six cups of this white powder substance in the ice tea mixer. >> police say right now, it appears to be an accident, but they are still studying seniorveillance video and interviewing the employee. >> a new jersey bridge sent billowing smoke into the air.

it is to new york city. firefighter boats are at the city. it's unclear if the blaze had anything to do with construction underway at the bridge. >> a south carolina woman was arrested after swearing in fronts of her kids. danielle was grocery shopping with her husband. she said he kept squishing the bread, putting frozen pizzas on top of it. she expressed anger. a fellow shopper confronted her about using the "f" word. she was arrested for disorderly conduct, tony. and she says that the woman who con front her didn't actually want her to be arrested but everything sort of escalated. the police showed up. >> see, the push comes to shove and squishing. maria, thank you. coming up on "al jazeera america," the governor of new hampshire has declared a state of emergency after a series of drug over doesz. the attorney representing michael brown's friend, one who

saw the officer shoot and kill brown, his version of events next.

real understanding... >> where you scared when you hear the bombs? >> al jazeera america real... news... this has been a somewhat confusing day when it comes to messaging from the police in ferguson, missouri. take a listen to one exchange by the ferguson police chief. >> no. he didn't. he had nothing to do with stats. >> at this point why did he stop michael brown? >> because they were walking in the middle of the street, blocking traffic. that was it. >> so this comes after the surveillance video was released and the police allege he was in a robbery but admit the officer who shot and killed him did not

know. the family says it was used to divert attention from the actual shooting. joining us now is the former mayor of st. louis, a lawyer for the witness. tas pleasure to have you on the program, your honor. what is your reaction to the release of the surveillance tapes? >> well, my client is relieved its out but one of the things we want everybody to know that several days ago, we met with the f.b.i. we met with the justice department. we met with representatives in the county for three hours. we told the story from what dorian and mike did fret from the time they got in, about the fact that he told them about it. nobody decided to release that information but the fact they gave it to the f.b.i. several days ago. >> several days ago? when did your client meet with

the f.b.i. and give this account? and why are we just hearing about all of this today? >> we met. >> that's a good question. we met with the f.b.i. several days ago, and briefed them totally on what happened. we started out from the beginning of when my clients first woke up that morning and gave them the information. they asked him and examined him at length about what happened in the store with big mike. we then went on to talk about what they did when they left the store. we then went on and talked about the confrontation between big mike dorian an the police officer and then the shooting. those three hours. so all of that information was out two days ago. the question becomes. y did the police department not release it. >> what do you think? >> it happened saturday. well, because they didn't have a story to tell. they was so busy trying to discredited big mike, trying to discredited them, trying to cast as spergses on his character that they were trying to find

some ways to justify the officer shooting big mike. and at the end of the day, they just can't do it. >> interesting. did you -- how did you fight the i impulse to come forward yourself and to hold your own media availability and put your story, your client's story, on the record as you had done with the f.b.i.? how did you resist that? >> well -- we will -- well, in our view, that had nothing to do with the incident at hand. the incident at hand was did that officer use excessive force when he shot big mike and killed him, when he shot an unarmed man in the back, in the head, and then over six or seven times in the body? was that a use of excessive force? not to confuse the issue about what happened at the store because this officer, as he came upon big mike and dorian, he had not received a call that, theft in progress. he did not receive a call saying two black men took something out of a store.

he had no way of knowing that these two men were the ones that robbed that store. >> okay. >> we are trying to keep it. >> got you. got you. freeman, i want you to take a moment here i am going to, to give you some breath here, and i want you to share with us the account of what happened, the confrontation between big mike and your client and this officer. what is the account that your client gave to the f.b.i., please? >> okay. walking down the street, as a matter of fact, walking in the middle of the street on the yellow line. why? i don't know. and why they probably don't even know. it's just something that people do. they were walking down the middle of the street. big mike still has these cigarillos in his hand. while walking, the officer comes from the opposite direction, pulls up to him. he stops. they stop. the officer says get the f on the sidewalk.

dorian says, officer, we are just going ahead here i don't really see any reason why we got to get out of the street, plus it's not illegal to be walking in the street. so they walk past the officer. as they get toward the end of the car, the officer throws the car in reverse, eerk. and he goes back to where they are. he catches back up with them like what did you say? and he is so close to them, he attempts to open the door but he is so close, he can't even get out of the car. all right? so then, they have further words. the officer then reaches up and grabs big mike by the throat, and big mike is so big, et cetera 6' 2", 250, and the officer is trying to control him from inside the car. >> how big is the officer? how big is the officer? how big is the officer? >> we don't know. but how big do you have to be if you are sitting in the car and you reach your hand outed and you grab somebody by the throat that's 6' 2" and 250? it really don't make no difference how big you are. >> and then -- >> big mike attempts to get

ahead. big mike just moves away from the officer. as he is moving away, the officer is grabbing him. he's got him by the shirt. he is going in closer and closer to the car. dorian is standing right there. he can touch big mike, and he can touch the officer if he wanted to. and then all of the sudden, dorian said the officer gets a we hope up. looks at big mike and aims at both of them but telling big mike, i am going to shoot you. big mike is come on, pow the gun goes off. big mike breaks off. him and dorian run. there are .3 officers'cars in the middle of the street, in the street. cars stacked up behind him. dorian runs, gets behind the first car and he's got down. here comes big mike running by, says, keep running. big mike runs by. next, here comes the officer right mind him. dorian stands up sees the officer shoot big mike in the back.

big mike turns and pow pow pow. he is lathing in the street. they leave him there for three hours. >> freeman, do you -- are there witnesses? are there independent witnesses? and when i say, "independent witnesses" you know what i am talking about, people who don't know your client >> absolutely. >> people who don't know big mike. are there independent residents to rcorroborate that your clien shared with the f twchbi? >> yes. one of the young ladies whose cars that was stacked up behind the police officer's car, she came forward yesterday and corroborated everything that dorian said almost to the word, that somebody else up on a balcony said the same thing. there was another person standing on the street claims he saw the same thing. so at least three people out independent of big mike that saw it. >> okay. freeman, thank you. >> hello? >> i thank you. no. no. thank you. i wanted to give you the time to

put it on the record. it becomes a record now and we get to what happens as the investigation moves forward. freeman bossley, the former mayor of st. louis? >> you have done that. okay. you have done that. thank you so much. >> thank you for your time. appreciate you. all right. let's take a break. coming up, the dangers of synthetic drugs, a look at how something that can be bought at a convenience store is sending people to the hospital.

>> ferguson, the government steps in >> we should see that justice is done >> as tensions continue >> this whole area has indeed become a flashpoint >> joie chen reports live flashpoint: ferguson special coverage continues on al jazeera america

>> texas govern rick perry has been indicted for abuse of power after perry publipromised to ve tote 7nal million dollars for the state public integrity unit which investigates political corruption. he is the first governor to be indicted. new hampshire has declared a state of emergency. at least 44 people have overdose odd a product called smat, a synthetic marijuana. most of the cases have cropped up in the last week. no one has died but it gives state officials the power to confiscate the drug. been substances like smat are created in the lab. the end result is unregulated. jacob ward has son insights into this complex process. what are the sin thetics forms of marijuana and where do they come from? >> scientists have detected in marijuana, mayor has positive medical benefits. it can sus press pain or the

immune responses they have tried to isolate cannaboids in marijuana and try to make useful drugs. they have gotten out into the world and -- in sort of garage biologist and chemists have taken these compounds, sprayed them on plant matter and call them things like smack and spice and the rest of it. >> that's what people end up smoking and having horrible reactions to. >> what is it that makes these drugs so dangerous? >> marijuana, the way that it binds to the brain, it's called a partialing anist. it binds to certain recentsors. it very directly bonds to the brain with all kinds of crazy effects emergency rooms reported everything from people losing ability to breathe on their own to losing their gag reflex, which is a life-saving reflex. all kind of bad stuff can happen. it has to do with the dosage, which no one is controlling in

this unregulated market. >> jacob ward for us in san francisco. that is all of our time for this news hour. thank you, tony harris. "real money" with ali velshi at the top of the hour. ♪ the crisis in ukraine may have kicked up a notch with a report of artillery fire, russia's economy is hurting. is there a method to vladimir putin's action. reading, writing and ring - what a school system is doing to open the school for the fall. >> happy birthdays panama canal - we talk about another canal that could change globalized