desert. >> and the importance... >> experiencing it, has changed me completely... >> of the lives that were lost in the desert >> this is the most dangerous part of your trip... >> an emotional finale you can't miss... >> we got be here to tell the story. >> the final journey borderland continues... only on al jazeera america >> on america tonight, an important oh point, flash point, ferguson. >> michael is going to make it better for our sons. >> a community comes together to remember the unarmed teenager gunned down by police in a st. louis suburb. after a night of tough clashes and broken promises, violence and more tear gas.

we look at the week that was in ferguson, missouri. consider a history of tensions that simmered over decades. >> it's not just mike brown. it's lifetimes of bad dealings with the police. >> the militarized forces that lit a spark. >> this is becoming a part of the cultural of american policing. >> we look ahead. will the police be able to keep the peace? and an american tonight special report. flash point ferguson. >> thank you for joining us. i'm joie chen. we have just returned from ferguson, missouri, outside of st. louis, a series of reporting has gripped the nation and surprised us as well. we look at what led a community to explode with pent-up anger and what led the spark of the

18-year-old michael brown being shot. officer johnson spoke to a group reminding the community that no one is perfect, and even compared his own children to michael brown. >> because when this is over i'm going to go in my son's room, my black son. [ cheering ] who wears his pants sagging, wears his hat cocked to the side, he has tattoos on his arms, but that's my baby. [ cheering ] >> today's rally followed another round of protests sat night. ferguson will be under curfew for a second night. earlier today there were more demands for just as more

national activists arrived to support the demonstrators, more attention to the federal government attorney general eric holder saying there will be a second autopsy from the medical examiner requested by brown's family. but there are more fears that things might spin further out of control. >> this is the police department. you're violating the state-imposed curfew. >> the warning came loud and clear. echoing across the rain-slicked asphalt late saturday night as police in riot gear again moved in. the curfew midnight to 5:00 a.m. imposed after reports of looting the night before. but the attempt at security and preventione preventing another night of unrest prevented few demonstrators. more than 100 stepped into the street again.

the stretched out street where michael brown walked just moments before he was killed. following up on his warning the police advanced. dressed in fatigues, helmets, and gas masks armed with billy cup cubs and military-style weapons. shortly after midnight a chaotic he scene. smoke some reported tear gas field the streets looking like a repeat of earlier in the week when a military-style crackdown incited an angry response from the crowd and sharp criticism from national leaders. but this time the new point man in ferguson officer johnson said law enforcement response was appropriate and an emergency required to clear the crowd to reach a man who was shot in the area. >> we had a victim who may lose

his life. we had a police car shot at tonight, yes, i think that was a proper response. >> reporter: johnson endorsed not only the late-night crowd dispersal but the governor's decision to impose the curfew. >> we can't allow the ill will of the few to undermine the good will of the many. >> reporter: the governor's move followed not only the friday-night outbreak of looters, but tension after details of information into brown's death was released. ferguson police chief thomas jackson disclosed the name of the officer, 28-year-old darren wilson, but only the barest outlines of who he is. >> he has been a police officer for six years, he has had no disciplinary action taken against him. he was treated for injuries which occurred on saturday. >> reporter: disclosing his name had been the community's chief demand, but even knowing it

offered demonstrators little satisfaction. because at the same time the police released a swain video which appeared to show michael brown committing an alleged theft stealing cigars a at a convenient store and then roughing up the store clerk. local residents who hung on to each police statement and challenged officials at every opportunity quickly expressed doubt about the police chief's timing and motivation for putting out the surveillance video and concern a police investigation would go anywhere. >> this is a bunch of bull crap. that's what it is. it has come up, that's the final line. >> it was a rough moment for the community, which had it less than a day earlier gun to embrace the man overseeing security. captain johnson had urged patience. >> in our anger we have to make sure that we don't burn down our

own house. >> that plea did calm demonstrators, but the video release ignited anger. they blamed the police of victim-blaming, diverting the incident to brown's alleged behavior. the chief added to the frustration and confusion. first he said that the officer was searching for suspects in the convenient store robbery, and then he contradicted his own words and said that they were stopping for walking in the middle of the street. >> it had nothing to do with the stop. >> at this point, at this point, why did he stop michael brown? >> because they were walking down the street blocking traffic. that was it. >> that did match what brown's friend had said consistently since the shooting. >> it was around 1:40, 2:00, we

were walking down the street, an empty street. we are walking down minding our own business. we were both headed home. the officer approached us and as he approached us he didn't say freeze or halt or anything like we were committing a crime. he said get the f on the side walk. >> they also.released the report about the convenient store robbery but not to the shooting. the report makes a passing reference to brown. it is worth mentioning that this incident is related to another incident detailed under ferguson police. in that incident brown was fatally wounded involving an officer of this department. but johnson said it was a situation that quickly escalat ed when officer which will-allegedly grabbed his friend. >> he started to pull my friend in the window. the officer is pulling him in.

he pulled away from the officer. he didn't once grab for the officer's weapon. now he has my friend's arm and then with the other hand he has his weapon. he said i'll shoot and then the gun went off and the officer let go. that's how we were able to run at the same time. the officer is pursuing my friend, he fire another shot, struck my friend in the back. my friend stopped running and his hands went in the air and he turned to the officer face to face. he said he was unarmed and stop shooting. before he could get the second sentence out the officer shot several more shots into his head and chest area. >> reports say brown pushed officer wilson when he tried to get out of his patrol car, that there was a struggle for his service weapon and that there was a shot fired in the car.

no further details have been released. even though there will be a probe many demonstrators and mike brown's family have already come to their own conclusions. >> the events that took place on canfield had nothing to do with whatever grocery store michael may have been in or whatever person is on that video had been in because we don't know if that was michael for sure. whatever to come place had nothing to do with the individual getting down on his hands and knees. raising his hand in the air saying don't shoot. this is an universal call for i surrender and i can hear my cousin's foist righ voice right now saying don't shoot and the officer stepped in and shot him. that is wrong. >> it has already been announced that the curfew will be imposed tonight. we're at ferguson now. out of the emotional, raw church service held about mike brown.

and i think we were truck about the incredible emotion that captain johnson brought to the service when he talked about mike brown. let's listen. >> we need to thank mike for his life. we need to thank him for the change that he is going to make, and make us better. >> natasha, really a very emotional reaction to an emotional comment from captain johnson. >> well, keep in mind, joie, he is a native son of ferguson, if you will. he is the miami state highway patrol captain brought in to restore law and order and bring a sense of calm to the streets of ferguson. there have been many speakers today, but definitely captain johnson was able to connect with them telling them that he's their neighbor. he's their friend. i thought it was worth noting that he said he respects their right to protest, and he believes that something good from the death of michael brown will come, that it will make our

sons better people. >> natasha, certainly there was a lot of emotion in the streets as well as the curfew was under way and we saw some of those issues very disturbing return to earlier in the week when the clashes were quite fierce. is there a sense that they can bring things under control tonight that will not result in this display of really strong response. >> that's the hope. when the governor declared the state of emergency and imposed this midnight to 5:00 a.m. curfew on saturday night he did acknowledge one night could not restore peace and bring calm to ferguson, but he was certainly hoping that it would be a start. unfortunately, that was not the start officials were hoping for. i saw people out this morning despite the steady rain with brooms, garbage ba cans and bags cleaning up the mess from saturday evening.

one man said he found it disappointing that people are, quote, tear down what we need to build up. >> al jazeera correspondent in ferguson, missouri, thank you very much for being with us. >> and looking forward what will bring an end to the crisis in ferguson? al jazeera contributor and local analyst joins us from atlanta this hour. is there any sign that we're looking toward an end? it certainly didn't appear that way today? >> no, i don't think this is close to being over. and one of the clearest dater indicators was not just the rioting but the department of justice who came out and said we don't trust the ferguson to conduct an autopsy. so they'll conduct their own autopsy on the body of mike brown. that means that trust is completely broken down and this won't be combing out any time soon. >> this is also a community that has had its tensions over time. but do you see any residents

outside of the community. you're in atlanta. are there other praises in the country where people are seeing reflections of this in their own community? >> oh, yes, there have been rallies all over the country, here, d.c. chicago, big cities, small cities. there was a moment of silence this thursday everyone recognizes some problem going on in ferguson that is reflective of their own community whether it's african-american men and women who feel they're constantly under threat and their lives are not valleyed by police departments. those who are concerned about the militarization of local police forces who say we have to do something about program te 1033. you can't give guns and tear gas to people who agree up on world of war craft. this has resonated nationally. >> i was struck by the fact when i was in ferguson that i saw many people from the national scene.

jesse jackson was there as well as congressman john lewis has been speaking out about this. and i'm wondering whether this has struck a nerve with a different generation of the civil rights movement as well. >> yes, this--these pictures--the images that we've been seeing from ferguson, they're reminiscent that you would see from the 1960 civil rights movement. you have many and women walking down the street being gassed and shot at. you have young men without their shirts on trying to defend stores from looters, yet they are not being helped by the police. this brings painful memories from the civil rights generation and many have seen this violence certainly against young people and people of color over the last couple of years. >> over the last couple of weeks we've seen some incidents of questions any case by law enforcement, use of force, and

whether it's appropriate in different communities and in different situations. thinking about the choke hold situation in new york, as well as the woman who was vide videotaped being beaten by a police officer in l.a. >> we have the woman in l.a. a man shot in walmart carrying a plastic begun. in ohio you have the mcbride case. this is an epidemic of public violence. that's one of the reasons why so many people are concerned about this. so it's not just an issue of militarization, and it's not just an issue of racism. it's an issue of structural problems. if you look at the way the ferguson police department has handled this situation, it's been dissolution of trust and the community. hiding the name of the police officer who shot someone. leaving the body out for four hours. not releasing the police report. defying the department of justice. no one there feel their rights

are being represented. that's the feeling throughout the country. there is gas to go demands for massive reform not just in ferguson but around the country. >> thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> ahead after the break on this special edition of america tonight. flash point ferguson. >> we have helicopters over the sky and tanks on the streets. >> a north county native takes us to the heart of his community and helps us understand how neighborhoods that grew up here decades ago now lie in waste help shaped the conflict in ferguson and the final moments of michael brown's life. vé

>> beyond the protests in the community where michael brown died there are each day nor conversations about what happens when this controversy dies down. will ferguson be remembered for something beyond mike brown's death? to help us more understand the community and how it reached this point we go to another

native in north county who led us to the heart of ferguson. [ protesting ] >> this is the way it's been every my. when it gets dark the police become more aggressive and the people have been out here longer and they're a little more aggressive, too. [ horns honking ] >> we went to the heart of what was a non-violent demonstration. a night that saw more dancing and chants, signs of protest. but ferguson and all this area known as north county might be ready to turn a corner and look forward. still, it doesn't take much to trigger anxiety. [ sirens ] >> it's intimidating to the people when you have helicopters over the skies, tanks on the streets. police and parking lot full of

police officers. this is basically an occupation. >> marley understands this community. north county is his home. he is a native. an observer, a columnist, a cab driver and a man who believes this week of clashes and anger has not changed the relationship law enforcement has with the people. >> you know, the heavy-handed police tactics increase and it makes the situation worse. no doubt about it. hear' adding fuel to the problem. >> reporter: a fire sparked, marley tells me, decades ago. this part of st. louis county outside of the city of st. louis was home to missouri's first all-black city. settled before the turn of the last century, and it remained truly separated with barricades on the streets until nearly 1970. development around the international airport gradually

forced residents out, and today much of kenlock is literally barren, a wasteland a dumping ground, all but abandoned. the community that was here now shoved into neighboring ferguson and other towns in north county. in 1980 only 14% of ferguson was african-american. it remained a majority white community until as recently as late 1990's. in the recent census 2010 the black population had reached 63%. made up of families like michael browns and those of the young people who have taken the streets here night after night. those are the streets that he drove us through telling me there is a direct link between what happened to north county and the life and death of michael brown. >> it connects with anger in the street. you have a lot of displaced youth. either then came from kenlock or

their families came from ken lock. they're constantly moving and no sense of direction. but that area where mike brown was killed is the old kinloch residents. >> mike brown had a future. >> he had a future, but you had to put it within the cultural context that mike might have a future, but a lot of these youths you see out here on the street don't have a future. they don't feel connected to society or connected to anything else. they don't feel that they have anything to live for. they don't feel like they have anything to lose. >> against all that a police department that remains nearly all white in ferguson and law enforcement in the surrounding county increasingly equipped with military-grade gear. marley said it's all enough to ignite the powder keg.

>> anti-i.e.d. vehicles, tanks, aircraft, guys dressing like villains from batman. it was so absurd why people were dressed like they were going to fight the taliban. it was just a bizarre situation. it doesn't mesh with reality. like, i had never seen that stuff in the hands of law enforcement. i realized that it existed, but i never knew it was a tool for policing of a suburban communi community. >> and despite assurances that it's a new days for relations for law enforcement and the community there are signs the message has not been received down to patrol car level. as we go to one of kinloch's abandoned streets two local

officers initiated an immediate and demand that our cameraman get off a public roadway. >> don't resist. i'll bust your head--i'll bust your head right now. >> i'm filming. >> i don't give a [bleep] >> i'm asking you to leave. >> go now. that's it. >> this we're told remains the way many in north county expect to be treated by the police here. harassed even when doing nothing illegal. when any encounter is likely to end as it did for michael brown badly. >> it's not just mike brown. it's life, times of bad dealings with the police, it's seeing your family dealt with by the police in that manner. it's so many things, and it's not just mike brown. >> a note about the connections and coincidences of history. it is well-known in the

community that many of the families that moved out of kinloch as the airport expand and developers expended are now living at canfield greens the same complex where michael brown's grandmother lived, the neighborhood he was headed to when he had a run in with the police officer and died on the street. >> we're joined from outside of the church services, which has been going on. can you talk to us a little bit about the emotions that are still there that are quite raw, mr. curtis? >> the emotions, they're pretty high. it's been that way for the last week i mean, people are looking for things and answers aren't coming quick enough. so they're just as high as last saturday, and i don't see it going down any time soon. >> what do you think would solve it? what would bring quiet to the community again, a sense that things aren't going forward?

>> for the most part they're asking for the arrest and the charging of the officer. that would be the most immediate thing that could be done to quiet the thing down, but outside of that we need to keep continuing to show support for the individuals that are on the ground that are actually protesting by having the community leaders go out there as well as the captain. we've been out there with him several days this week just walking, and that is quieting some things down, but we still have a large contingency coming from out of the city to protest as well. that's where the last part of tension really lies. >> yes, i think people, as i found there, they're really looking for greater answers and more long term. as we saw in that report about kinloch, this is the situation that has grown up over decades of transition within north county. how do you resolve that with some rallies. even the resolution of the case

of the death of mr. brown. how do you resolve it after just one case? >> kinloch problems are a whole lot deeper, and it goes to a number of reasons. we need a full community--the airport came in and bought up a lot of the property with hopes to expand that way and then went that other way. i do represent that community, and we've been trying to change the situation there, but there has not been the appetite to do that at the county level. but it doesn't mean that we're going to stop and continue. it we'll have two communities to focus on and improve things. >> i understand that there is a big effort to involve more people in the electoral process that voting was very low in these last elections, and that there is a need--something that people have become aware of,

that there is a need to be more active in the loyal process to get more representatives in place that really represent the community. >> it's always been a challenge in the election that i won. we roughly had 15% participation, and the most recent municipal election i think it was somewhere around 15 as well. the mayor even won with 1500 votes. that was a key issue because the superintendent had been let go, and the community came to rally around him to keep him. he was a great african-american leader, he still is, but he's no longer with the district. the issue happened in a different representative district but the challenges with the voter participation is a north county problem in general. >> in north country, do you see in some sense the people have become active aggravated, that people are ready to do more to be in the streets, to make this

more vocal, to have this be on mike brown's death. >> just last week we had the county executive race. our african-american representative lost. that's largely because there wasn't a lot of voter participation from the african-american community, and then because of an outpouring of support from the republican side to defeat him because that was the only side that the republicans could possibly win. so since then we've see a change within the community just because of the mike brown situation, and i think most people are talking about getting actively involved, and they're definitely talking about improving relations between ourselves but also definitely trying to take back as much representation as possible so we can truly be represented here in north county. >> it will be more than mike brown when this is all over. missouri state representative courtney curtis, we thank you for joining us. >> after the break we'll return to our america tonight special

report "flash point ferguson." and the images that raise new questions about the new force of even suburban police departments across the nation, and their military-style training. >> they're not trained to deal with people who have constitutional right, people who are protected by the constitution of the united states. there are missions overseas to find the enemy force and destroy them. >> correspondent on the force behind america's new police force.

>> al jazeera america presents a self portrait of generation now... >> so many of my friends is pregnant... >> i feel so utterly alone... >> you need to get your life together >> i'm gonna do whatever needs to be done... >> ya boy is working on becoming a millionaire... >> an intimate look at what our kids are facing in school and beyond 15 stories, 1 incredible journey >> in this envelope is my life right now... >> edge of eighteen only on al jazeera america >> the striking images of police of riots, focus sharp attention

on what some call the militarization of police departments all across the country. it raises new questions about why even small town police have picked up military-grade gear and what that means for the future of american law enforcement. an examination of what is already out there from america tonight michael oku. >> a sight that has sparked alarm and outrage. in the words of some leaders belongs in a war zone not on suburban streets. for another nights the police came out in force to confront protesters in military vehicles and in combat gear firing tear gas and rubber bullets. as the nightly confrontations wore on, so, too, criticism of the heavy-handed police response, president obama cautioning against excessive force. >> there is no need to use

excessive force against peaceful protesters or throwing them in jail for exercises their first amendment rights. >> governor j. nixon announced thursday the state highway patrol will take over security. the scene last night was very different. no incident of violence as protesters thronged the streets and no signs of the paramilitary equipment and rifles as highway patrol officers stood pass liv lively by. demonstrators approved. it triggered a conversation about the militarization of police. and why and how it was used this week in missouri. >> i don't know the type of training these officers in ferguson received, but given the inappropriate ways in which they were acting and conducting themselves i would even say that

they received poor training, or they ignored the good training that they had received some time ago, or they were give no training at all. >> lynch's studied the trend of militarization within law enforcement agencies and said it's not just the equipment, but the nature of some training that is worrying. >> one aspect that alarms us about the militarization of policing is that we know that some civilian police units, s.w.a.t. units, or special response teams, we know that they have, at least some of them have been training with units of our special forces, and this is very disturbing because our special forces operate overseas in a theater of battle, and they're not trained to deal with people who have constitutional rights, people who are protected by the constitution of the

united states. their missions overseas are to find the enemy force and destroy them. we don't want them explaining to our civilian units how they conduct themselves overseas because that's totally inappropriate for civilian policing. >> a recent study by the american civil liberty union, the aclu entitled "war comes home: the excessive militarization of american policing found only 7% was for the original purpose like a hostage situation. 80% was to execute search warrants. >> it's widely believed that the first prominent police weapon for s.w.a.t. was established in 1967 right here in los angeles. initially consisting of 15 teams of four men each the unit was comprised of volunteers within the lapd, and lapd inspector

initially named the platoon special weapons assault team. but after popular protest that name was rejected for sounding too much like a military unit. >> but lynch argues military culture has seeped into police departments nonetheless, a culture celebrated in videos like this one produced by a company that markets equipment to s.w.a.t. teams. >> when you look at the culture of the police departments, when you see some of their recruiting videos that they put on their police department websites, the officers are conducting themselves in a very aggressive fashion acting and dressing like soldiers. this has become a culture of american policing. >> a culture now under intense scrutiny. al jazeera los angeles. >> we're joined by david harris law enforcement expert at the university of pittsburgh law school where he is also a

professor of law. let's talk about how it got to be this way. what was the intention of equipping even suburban law enforcement with this kind of equipment? >> well, there are two things that nun parallel. one is post 9/11 anti-terrorism environment and the federal government put out grant applications and all kinds of things to get the money spigots flowing to get them the equipment that they thought they might need for a possible terrorist incident. the other thing is that the pentagon has a program, an organized program to get rid of surplus built equipment that it does not want, it is no longer useful for the war efforts in iraq and afghanistan. you have these two things happening at once, and the result of that is that every little police department at every level in the united states had access to top-grade military weapons, vehicles, and other equipment. and that is an issue of concern as we've seen from ferguson.

>> the thing that strikes me is the expression if your only tool is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. is there evidence of abuse? >> i don't know if there is evidence of abuse, but what i've seen, and ferguson is a perfect example, when you have these tools, you want to use them. while there may an very small chance that you would need an armored personnel weapon for a terrorist attack, thank god we didn't have any of those. we had something in boston that qualified, but it is just not necessary for the run of the mill law enforcement work that people do day in and day out quite successfully with regular law enforcement equipment. and what we saw in ferguson was that just having that equipment and that kind of armament on site was not just equipment, it was a message. people around there took that message that we should be

afraid. they felt threatened. it got more tense. it tended to escalate the problem instead of de-escalate it. i think that is a problem. >> professor, we're talking about this type of equipment, m raps, assault weapons being used by suburban police department. i wonder once you've opened up this pandora's box how do you close it? >> it's very difficult to get the toothpaste back in the tube. here it's good enough to start the conversation. we've sues military equipment used against demonstrators in a small environment, and i think everybody can see now that this is just overkill. if you try it out, if you use it, there is going to be reaction to it. i think we've got a conversation going now that's been long overdue. >> indeed, a conversation that larker has already reached capitol hill and there are a number of senators and

congressmen previe previewing. thank you for being here. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> if the system won't be changed kingly, what kind of monitoring will be used to prevent abuse. many police departments use recording devices to track officers and everything they face everything from dash cams to officers worn on the officer's clothing. ferguson's police department has some but said it doesn't have money to install them. "techknow" contributor lindsay moran got a look at how body cams work for some department on a ride along in oakland, california. >> officer brian hernandez was one of several units respond to go a call in east oakland, wanted for robbery and attempted murder. but our cameras were not the only ones catching the action.

each officer wore one of these. another set of eyes. recording everything that happened. [ sirens ] >> can i talk to my son? >> give us second and we'll instruct him. >> oakland is one of more than 3500 police departments nationwide using body cams. they've been taking the police of dashboard cameras because they go where the officer goes. >> this is to capture individuals discarding firearms or making incriminating statements in regards to their involvement in crimes that would be the officer's words against the subject's word. this camera makes it appear and evident. >> we're investigating any crime or potential of encountering someone of detention we're supposed to activate it. >> how has the lapel camera

effected your job. >> as first it was uncomfortable, but now to have it back up our word. it's great. >> hey, how are you doing, man? can you give us your license and registration. >> what happens to the video after it's recorded by the lapel camera? >> at the end of the officer's shift, he or she plugs it into a terminal and the videos are up loaded on a network server. the officers can't delete it or anything along those lines. >> having an opportunity to track trouble, al jazeera "techknow" correspondent lindsay moran with that report. when we return to america tonight, a special look at "flash poin point ferguson, beyond the gateway arch. the people of st. louis and the people known as north county and how rapid change helped set the stage for what's happening in ferguson today.

>> al jazeera america >> this is the very tail section it was burning when we got here >> unbiased reporting... >> the violence has continued >> the violence has continued just a couple of miles from here >> in depth coverage... >> we've got a military escort allowing us to feel a further than everyone else... >> real global perspective >> this was clearly an attack against them... >> from around the world, to the issues right here at home >> ...shouldn't been brought here in the first place... >> we're not here to take over >> real stories... real people... real understanding... >> where you scared when you hear the bombs? >> al jazeera america real... news... welcome back. al jazeera america in ferg missouri at the greater grace church. >> i'm thomas grade no one new york. we're following breaking news at this hour. we want to take a pause from programming to give you the latest out of ferguson, missouri.

as we take a look at live pictures. there is more unrest on the streets. just moments ago we saw police in riot gear trying to push protesters back. the crowd and situation getting quickly out of control. we saw smoke canisters being deployed into the ground. the smoke canister is being deployed in the crowd. protesters on the streets. some wearing masks. some holding signs saying "stop killing us." ash har quaraishi is on the street in ferguson. what more can you tell us, ash har? >> reporter: that's right, thomas, pandemonium broke out. we hear from police that molotov cocktails were thrown at police at the manned center which is a mile and a half down the road behind me in ferguson. we were sitting in a vehicle

adjacent to the street as police began to advance and firing what we thought were smoke canisters were definitely tear gas scanters. we could feel the burning in our own eyes. we could taste it and see it. the pictures speak for themselves. they were pushing protesters back. we did see some protesters come running towards us as the police were advancing. young young lady said there were children in that direction. they may have been caught up in that. but the police continued to move their armored vehicles further on down the street behind me to push the crowds back. they announced over the p.a. system, the radio system for everyone to disperse, for everyone to evacuate this area. that's what continued to happen for the last few moments just until a minute or two. and you might be able to see, i'll step out of the way as my photographer zooms in, you can still see gas canistering being launched in the distance. the smoke and the tactical vehicles pushing forward towards

the area where much of the looting took place at this time last week. we also saw helicopters, police helicopters continue to fly over head. we'll tilt up to show you. you can see this. the police continue to shine a spotlight to try and find whether or not people are actually still on the streets. now as you know, thomas, tonight was to be the second night of a curfew enforced after the governor announced a state of emergency. you can hear another canister being fired off in the distance. this was supposed oh to be a curfew. the governor said it was successful yesterday even though a scene took place and seven arrests. still a fluid moment with that helicopter flying over our heads, thomas. that's basically what we've seen on the ground in ferguson over the last few minutes.

>> ash har, do we know how much people are involved in the unrest welcom? >> it's unclear. once we saw the v.a. this was a full-blown protest. these are some of the biggest crowds we've seen in the last few days. i would say hundreds just about 20 minutes before the police began advancing. the producer, the photographer and i went into the crowds, and there were huge numbers, hundreds of people out, mostly youth driving around in their cars. some sitting on their cars. many holding signs protesting the killing of michael brown by the officer here just a little over a week ago. so very, very loud, very, very populated, and there was no warning for those folks until the police started advancing this way. because as i mentioned again those molotov cocktails that the police say were lobbed at them happened well away from the main scenes and they slowly advanced. the tear gas trying to disperse those crowds, a large number of

people, much larger than yesterday when this started taking place. >> as we were taking a look at the video earlier we saw protesters hold ohing up signs "stop killing us" many with their eyes in the air. we're two hours away from another curfew here. what are the goals of the police force? are they planning any arrests? >> it sounds like they basically have taken the tact that would have happened later on in the evening. just much earlier. and that's something that we heard from residents today. speaking out just a few hours ago one woman told us that this curfew is too late. that midnight was too late. they should start moving the curfew earlier in the evening, 10:00 or 9:00 because it took several hours to clear those last few hundreds of people who would not leave despite the curfew being in effect. so what she had predicted was that this was what would happen, they would have to come in and move in much earlier. again it's late on sunday night.

we had some storms and that may have had some people leaving on their own before this melee broke loose. but tonight, huge crowds and now the streets are bankly empty other than the police. >> can you give us a better idea of the street that you're on? where were the protesters headed? where were the police trying to push them back to? >> from what i've seen from my vantage point we're at the corner of ferguson and fourth avenue. this is. basically where the looting that escalated on friday night occurred. just here to my right, i'll have the photographer pan over here. you see the police in swat gear wearing tactical vests and they're wearing gas masks as well, i can see. they're moving slowly in here. just to give you a sense of where we are, the looting on friday night.

we're where most of the looting and damage and rioting occurred last sunday night. so further up on the strip. this is the main drag. this is where the protests have been all week. the protesters would go up and down this street just a few hours ago before night fell. we did see superintendent ron johnson come into the crowd. he has been doing that the last few nights. just sort of calm the crowds. but again we went into the crowds about an hour or so ago. that's a half hour before the police began advancing on this area, and it was very boysster rouse. there were reports that someone was shot in the area. first down this line where the command centers where police are basically controlling the communications that have all of the municipalities that are cooperating here working with the teams that are out here, the

missouri highway patrol. they make their plans there, and as we understand molotov cocktails were tossed at police from that center. to my right, it's a little bit dark, but the police are going into the side streets now to clear out vehicles. it looks like what we're seeing now is the implementation of what would be happening at midnight tonight almost like a curfew but they're basically trying to clear this main strip of lapped. but they say it was precipitated, again, thomas, by protesters who they say attacked them at the mobile command center tossing molotov cocktails in their direction leading them to use gas canisters and tear gas. >> can you give us a better idea of the police force involved, the make up. it was less than 24 hours ago that we heard captain ron johnson say that tear gas would notin not be used unless

necessary. but from your accounts molotov cocktails were thrown. >> that's what we're hearing. that's what we're being told. again, ron johnson is speaking at a church rally attended by michael brown's parents as well as the reverend al sharpton. he talked about the need for peaceful protesting. he talked about the need for the community to protest and voice their concerns, but to do it peacefully. he also said that they don't want to use these tactics. they said that they would not use these tactics, but again he said that he knew about the gas canisters being deployed. he made that call last night. he was the man in charge, and clearly with what is going on tonight that's going to be another question for ron johnson, you know, why were these tear gas canisters used at this time. again as i mentioned still early in the evening. a lot of families here. we had a lot of people rushing and yelling, if there are children in the area get out of here because the police are advancing and using tear gas. as you see me behind me the

police continued to move in here. just to give a sense of the police force that we've seen here. hundreds of officers not only from st. louis county, the missouri highway patrol but neighboring municipalities involved in the security effort along this strip, along this--in this whole area of ferguson, really, that have come in to try to assist with crowd control. but as we've been saying and as we know superintendent ron johnson of the missouri highway patrol basically taking the lead on providing the security that they're in, and dealing with the crowd control over the last few days here. and again as you can see behind me basically police walking the streets here going through the side areas trying to clear as many people as possible. the tactical units have moved further up and the armored vehicles are a half mile from where they were a half hour ago. they continue to push through, closer to the q.t. that was

damaged last week, and where most of the epicenter of these protests have been since the beginning of this whole affair, thomas. >> we heard from civil rights activists speaking at the rally. this almost comes as a surprise, ash har because there was a sense of peace following that rally today. >> there was, and i'll tell you, you know, we started to feeling is amiss. there was a tension in the air just an hour hour and a half before the police moved in. there was something different about the way the protesters were gathering down the street from us. you could sense that things could possibly get out of hand, and that's clearly what what happened here tonight. although the hope was that this would continue to de-escalate and these tactics would not need to be used against these crowds. >> we've seen so many of these images. before we take a brief break, ash har, what is it going to

take to restore the peace there in ferguson? >> some of the residents i've spoken with said nothing short of charges against the police officer, the ferguson police officer who was involved in that shooting. nothing short of that is going to help temper this. now again these are deep-seeded sentiments that have been felt here in this community, and the michael brown case is basically highlighted all those things. one resident said to me, yes, while they are happy about the fact that the department of justice is taking this investigation very seriously one of the things that we heard about was the medical examiner is going to perform another autopsy on the recommendation of the d.o.j. that's something that they say is important, and having trust the investigation. again, control on the streets is handled by a whole other police force. >> it's 9:58 in ferguson,

missouri. we'll follow latest developments. stand by. i'm thomas drayton, here is what is coming up at the top of the hour. >> he had the right as an american citizens for due process. >> calls for justice for michael brown. a community rally is held. in iraq - kurdish force, with the assistance of u.s. air strikes, take back control of the largest dam in mosul. working to prevent sexual assaults on college campuses, the subject of tonight's "the week ahead"

thanks for joining us on al jazeera america. you see the situation here getting out of control. police are in full force with riot gear. we heard from ashar quraishi just a moment ago that they deployed tear gas into the crowd. trying to get the protesters back. there is a state mandated curfew in about two hours in ferguson missouri. the second night, last night we saw repeated scenes with protesters on the