the website. you can find us on witter at aj consider this, and follow me on twitter. see you next time. this is al jazeera america, i'm randall pinkston in for john seigenthaler. you are looking at live pictures from ferguson, missouri, a midnight curfew has been listed. in just the last few minutes police began to blare sirens and lining up. apparently moving crowds back.

more protesters were taken into custody. michael brown's family released an unofficial report saying police shot the teen six times. >> robert ray is in ferguson tonight. he's been there all day. what is happening right now? >> well, it was peaceful a couple of hours ago. things have made a change. you can hear the noise behind me, that's the police. they want people to disperse the streets. this is a group that is voicing their opinion. it's rowedier over the course of the past hour. no tear gas has been deployed. we are ready for it in case it does occur. a couple of bottles of water from tossed. that brought in the police. people are just loud. trying to figure out what is going to happen. tensions clearly up right now. let me bring in someone real quick. the head of the n.a.a.c.p., adoll fizz pruitt.

we are in the middle of this. there's a huge armoured military-like vehicle rolling past us. tactical operations, st louis county. your thoughts? >> i'm glad to see it was a couple of bottle of water and didn't result in the police retaliating with tear gas. it seems they are trying to show restraint from doing things that we don't want to see happen. >> i wish the crowd was a lit the more cooperative, but protests... >> about 30 minutes ago we saw a couple of kids get arrested. they were drunk on the streets with police. i've been in a lot of situation, n.a.t.o., chicago, new york. i think part of difference is the fact that when the kids are arrested, they are arrested with a heavy hand - that's my observation, to be totally

honest with you. >> is there - there's no curfew. was there any kind of disorderly conduct prompting the police to move in. what, in your opinion prompted the police to order the crowds to disperse at this point? >> behind me, about 200 protesters that formed a big frontline came in, they were loud and boisterous. couple of bottles of water, and the tactical units came in. you can see behind me more of the strum. >> let me explain, there are protesters trying to calm some of these guys down. >> we have apparently - we have apparently lost the audio - robert, are you back, we lost you there for a minute. we here audio from the street, we think.

robert ray was reporting, as we can see. >> we are back. we should be back. we should be back. >> go ahead. >> are you with me. >> go ahead. >> i apologise, it's a hectic information, people are running behind the camera, knocking the wire out. the beeping is coming from the tactical vehicles. the pitch goes up, it's deafening, that's the way they are trying to disperse people, a new method, unlike the tear gas and rubble bullets. this is a loud situation right now. you know, we don't know where the fence will lead throughout the night. there's no curfew, the national guard is about half a mile up the street. the other night, last night, protesters moved into the tactical demand center. that's why the governor issued the national guard. the fight is early.

we are hoping that doesn't occur again. >> we are looking at a remote camera, that shows police officers lined up. are you able to see that. can you tell us what that formation is about. it appears that they are protecting something behind them, trying to prevent the protestors moving in that screction. >> yes, i can see the line, and behind the line are tactical vehicles and blaring, a horrible sound. behind the line is the command center. they do not want the protesters to go up the hill and make it to the command center. this gentleman in the yellow. sir, sir - you called for peace earlier tonight. >> i'm fighting to maintain it. >> i know you are. that's the thing.

>> it ain't going to be easy. >> there are protesters out here that don't want the bedlam in the streets of ferguson. the problem is you can't change the behaviour of everyone. that gentleman is working to slow this down. he told us earlier when we talked to him, that it will be a serious night. get ready, but we are hoping for a peaceful march. as crazy as it seems, it's peaceful, except for the line of military tactics. >> you pointed out that so far that it does not appear that there's any one entity or group of people in charge, organising. it's everyone come out and hopefully peacefully protest, but ost some people are not peaceful. >> you are right. you are exactly right. there's no one entity leading this charge. the guy behind me in the yellow

is trying to take the lead to create peace. that's what he told us. whether or not - you can see this, i'm not sure what is going on here. clearly protesters are upset, and she is gentleman are trying to calm him down. you can see the struggle within the protesters, the different divisions, and earlier in the day the police department tweeted there were gang members. happening on, calm down. calm down. no, no, hey. hey. we are just going our job. we are doing our job. we are respecting it. okay. okay. >> we are going to breakaway from you right now. and - but hang tight. stay safe, obviously. we are going to talk to someone who has a great deal of expertise in crowd control, cory, the found are of the law

enforcement alliance, who spend 22 years in the new york city police department. inspector, retired, let me ask you, as you look at what is going on out here, from a law enforcement perspective. what can they do, what should they do at this jupping tur. >> thank you -- juncture. >> thank you for having me. what it looks like for me is that it's under control. the cops like like they used a lot of restraint. there's a lot of noise in the background, there's a few protesters. the good thing, that i'm happy about is you have community leaders telling them "look, stop, don't do this to our community", enough is enough. you see the line of the police officers, a strong show of force, and, hey, we are here, and it's 2-3 blocks, and they have the national guard.

i feel a little good about tonight. early stages what i'm seeing with the police. >> you handle and have been present at major demonstrations here in new york city in the course of your career. as you look at what is going on in ferguson, a small community compared to new york city. what does it say about the organization of the protestors. >> they are not organised. we know that. you can see sporadically, we have people coming out of the protest. a good protest will have a leader, a community leader saying we'll meet here at 8 o'clock, this is what we'll do, they'll give order of what we'll do, this is not what we are seeing. we see sporadic people popping up and coming down. a lot of kids look like they want to cause havoc. the police are showing a show of force. this must stop. if you don't stop.

we'll shut this down. >> let's talk about another development that took place. a private autopsy, requested by the family of michael brown, conducted by former new york city examiner michael bayden. did you see his report based on what he was able to gain access to. what do you make of the autopsy report. what does it say about the fatal injuries that michael brown suffered. >> well, without coming to a conclusion, because, remember, we need to see the first report. we need the official report. we need to see how close. if there's anything on the clothing. what he's released, it tells us, me, that the one shot we all agree - there was a shot in the car, outside of the car, but the officers will have to explain

the next five shots. >> hang on, i'd like to go back to robert ray in ferguson. has the crowd dissipated or have you moved? robert? >> i apologise. yes, we - one. tactical vehicles just came in at 10 miles per hour with a surge of police officers in a single line came in, wept over to this crew over here - i guess they are trying to disperse them. to me, it seems like - i mean, there's 50 people over there. i don't - to pee, seeing this, why would you send a car in like that with a surge of vehicles, why not sit back. this is escalating. you can see the line. you see some of these protesters arguing, showing the disorganization of different

groups. everyone wanting justice but going at justice in a different way. >> have you seen anyone taken into custody or detained or any physical confrontation between protesters and authorities? >> yes, i have. two young men about 46 minutes ago down the street, they were taken in, pushed up the street, and likely brought up to the command center where they are detained. whether or not they are arrested, i can't confirm that. out here, as we speak right now, i have not seen anyone taken away in the past 45 minutes. we are seeing a lot of arguing and people dispersing and the line of police officers. here comes the armoured vehicle. they'll come in. they'll keep going this time. interesting. here comes the line of the

police. the tactical units come in right now. and they are saying "stand down, stand down." protesters are running. okay, now people are arrested. people are on the ground. here we go. this trooper here telling us to disperse. they have gas masks on. i suppose we'll see how this unfolds. there's a shotgun, it appears... >> okay. your audio... >> mike is back in, guys, i apologise. we have people behind us. so we have what appears to be rubber bullets there, definitely in one - another gun that looks like a semiautomatic. that is a real semiautomatic, and they are telling us to move back. this is fluid as we can see.

here we go. protesters saying for everyone to step back. >> officers are telling the media to set back. protesters are telling us to step back. we are - we are not here to insight this, we are here to document it. that's what we do. >> we'll continue to record, obviously, your images, and we'll come back to you as the situation develops there. back to you, inspector. i wanted to talk about the autopsy. so in the training, and i know that there are different protocols based on whatever department you are in. in standard police training, what would justify, number one, the use of deadly force, and in the use of that force, how many files is an officer set to fire at someone that is not armed?

>> we are not trained to shoot at anyone that is not armed. let's clear that up. we are trained to shoot here at the bottom of the neck to the waste. this is the green area. this is the red area, off limits, you know. now, this is the problem with civilians. they don't understand, in the heat of the moment when you shoot, it's not like you are on the range where you have the breathing technique and line up the site, it's more like suppressive fire, you are getting a person off of you. it's into the like on tv where they say "hey, you've got a shot", you are behind cover. with this officer, it seems that they had a struggle and he decided to shoot. remember the close proximity. i've heard ranges 3-20 feet.

>> how long will it take to fire off six rounds? >> second and a half, 2 seconds, very quickly. >> we learnt from the control room on the phone with us, the son of dr martin luther king, martin luther king iii - hello, mr king, are you there? >> yes, i am. >> are you in ferguson? >> no, i'm not. i was there this morning. but i am not currently there. >> perhaps you can clear me up on something. i know you are acquainted with a civil rights leader on the ground. people who live there. >> it anybody in charge of the process. >> i don't know that that can be said. it appears that religious leaders and others have come out to sort of quell the situation

as much as possible. but i would not like to say that it is leaderless, but i don't believe there's one leader. and, you know, often when you have youth, you have seniors, you have religious leaders, community leaders, and political leaders, you have an assortment of leadership. the goal, of course, is to have anonymity. when you have that, you have the greatest chance of success. i'm not sure that that has happened yet. >> is it fair to stay, mr king, that at this jupping tur it appears to be chaotic and in need of some kind of coordination? >> well, you know, i wouldn't - i would not like to criticise in that way, but certainly - and i say that because physically i'm

not there, and so i cannot evaluate it in that way. i can only evaluate it from afar, looking at what i have seen on television. it seems that a semblance - a leadership circle created could be very helpful. they are people that are fighting in the trenches every day. and it's very evident that the frustration has been extraordinarily high. and it may get frustrated again. but i think it's a cyclical thing. it's up and down, up and down. >> at this juncture, mr king, who would you say is responsible for this continuing protest. the - the rising anger, the frustration? >> first of all, i don't know

that you can quantify it in a way by saying that this person or this group of people are responsible. again, i would not know that. >> let me rephrase the question. when we go back to the beginning. back to the killing of michael brown. we know that there was an officer who did that, but as you analyse this, is it that incident that has reduced what we have been seeing for the past several days, or is it beyond the killing to a series of other incidents that the nation doesn't know anything about, but that is occurring there overtime. it's not either or. the tragic killing of michael brown is what is brought to is

head. perhaps it's been brewing for some time. i think it's clear that - and it should be, i don't know that america realises, but police officers in most communities - even the mantra is to protect and serve. unfortunately that is not the experience. the average african american has - it's not their experience with police. as a result, there's a huge level of kiss trust. so this situation has been brewing a long time. i think one of the things that might be helpful is, number one, to institute community policing immediately. that is certainly what captain johnson talked about, and what can happen in the future. but also, human relations diversity training - there has

been some - there has been some communities that used civilian review boards and civilian oversight boards so that the community is involved. votes on policy may be involved, civilian reviews when there has been problems that might be fatal, like the tragedy or any incidents that are made against police. i think when you have the community involved at that level, it creates for transparency. >> can you stay on the line for a second. as we have been watching - you probably have been watching - we see some developments on the streets. we want to go back to our correspondent. can you bridge us up to date what has been -- bring us up to

date what has been happening. i see some people applauding? >> they were applauding. the guys that have taken charge decided the fact that some of the protesters dispersed, they got the crowd to calm down. the tactical units are on the line, but you can see everybody is sort of taken are breath in the past 40 minutes. it's been tense out here. >> across the street from where you were standing, i notice there was a store, was there a concern about people getting close to the store. is that what prompted the police to move in, do you know? >> no, i don't think so. it's called an alliance credit union across the street. that's earlier. they call it the pen, if the protesters wanted to stop, and talk about what they want. they could wrangle them in the parking lot.

i don't think that would have anything to do with it. it's the fact that up the street is the tactical command center where the protesters made their way in, the potential why the national guard is here today. >> as far as you could ascertain, because you under three different law enforcement units were out there. ferguson police, sheriffs, the state police, headed by captain johnson, and headed by the national guard. as far as you can determine, is it captain johnson who has been in charge of this movement of personnel and machinery up and down the avenue. >> that's what we are told, that he took over. you know, in the past few days, we can only imagine. i don't think the national guard is running the show at all. they are there as a perimeter security for the tactical command center. we haven't seen the national guard roll down in the past

45 minutes. it seems like the state police, st. louis county and ferguson. they are the ones that are lining up here, and it appears to be under control. it's not just the police, it's these gentlemen that have made a stand, the protesters that i think have decided that this is the end, we have to stop having the violence. you can hear the crowd is at a low roar. the sirns are not going. beyond that we are taking a deep breath. i'm happy there was no tear gas or rubber bullets. >> thank you, stand by for more questions, mr king, are you still there? >> yes. >> here is a - just a quick question. do you think the police chief of ferguson should resign. what is - what, in your opinion, is the possibilityie of public officials to do something to improve the relations between

the community and the police, the elected officials of ferguson. >> well, i don't think it's my place to say whether the chief should resign. that is up to the citizens of the city of ferguson. and that is certainly a decision of the elected officials. i'm assuming that the police chief works for the major, and the city council's job is to protect and serve the citizens, if it's proven that that is not happening, and the chief, perhaps - if it's proven that his conduct created this scenario, then maybe the scenario - we don't know if there was an attempt to proopd. all we know is that a young man was kill. if it's proven that a young man was executed, because of the

policies that the chief has administered. then, yes, it would be an order to call for his resignation, and maybe some level of prosecution. that's something that has to be proven. short of that i do not know if the police chief should resign. if the people of ferguson says that, it needs to be discussed. >> thank you very much. martin luther king iii on the line, live as we all watch the evolving developments on the streets of ferguson, missouri. mr king, we appreciate your insight and your reflections. >> thank you so very much. >> back to you inspector, retired, someone that has been involved in a lot of training. if you were retained by ferguson

authorities, what are the first one, two or three things you would begin to work with this police department. >> the first thing this i would do is immediately build bridges between the police and the community, and there's a host of ways of doing that. the first is to bring them and have the cops with the kids. i said on the show when i was the commanding officer, i had the cops play sports with the kids. we had the cops filling in, the precincts - our cops pled with the kids, we had barbecues, we ate with them. they need to understand. there's a human side. it's not about arresting the citizens. >> the police officers need to know that they are not in an occupied territory. they need to know that. they are defending fellow americans. >> everything is about the leadership, that is the key.

we talk about diversity training, we need to diversify the police department. when you have the numbers, 53 police officers, only three african-americans, 70% minority community. there's something wrong with that. we wait until the city burns down to fix it is a shame. someone has to be held accountable. i will say it now, it will be hard for that police chief to police in that community after this has happened. >> thank you for your thought and observations. we'll take a break. it's a fluid involvement. we'll be back with a live update to the dream. stay with us on al jazeera america. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow.

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call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm randall pinkston in for john seigenthaler. you are looking live at pictures from ferguson missouri, where police are keeping crowds on the move. the national guard in place, trying to keep the peace. protesters on the streets. police there as well. a tense standoff following the shooting death of michael brown,

an unarmed black teenager. robert ray has been on the scene all day. he is with us live. robert, what is happening now? it appears certainly, compared to half an hour ago, to be a lot more peaceful and calm. >> it is, it's more quiet than 10 minutes ago. let me bring in a protestor. you have been out here. what happened in the past hour. >> it got crazy. everything was going great, it was smooth. quiet as a mouth. we were doing as the police said. walk around. >> we were exercising our first amendment rights. someone started to throw bottles

of water, and boom, here they come. i'm out there trying to tell everyone "hey, get off the streets", they say "get on to the sidewalks." we got a chain together to push the people back, some we had to pick up, because they didn't want to get up. no. >> so there's a divide in the protesters. >> only because of one person. >> who is that. >> that is the guy bringing them back into the street now. >> who is that? someone bringing them into the street. >> he was, he called me an atheist because i was trying to help. >> clearly there's a divide out through. by what you are saying... >> only a few. >> i was there too. if you want to live, you know, you have to know how to leave. you tell people go home, go home, and you don't know what

you're doing. do you know what i'm saying. we didn't come here to go home. >> what is the cause, in one sentence? >> the cause is one gentleman, with his followers out here, stirring up the people. >> what is your cause out here as a protestor? >> we have a little brother who could get killed by the cops. we are trying to put it together so they know what is wrong. >> we want a new system. it's not about black and whit. it's about the system. it's all about changing the system to where everybody has equal justice, regardless of race, creed, religion, it's about the people. >> i'll leave you with the last word. >> you know what happened in flori florida, trayvon martin was shot.

we need something. we need something to change. we need whatever happened back there, not happen again. >> you can hear the passion with people, trying to figure out how... >> we are not animals. we are people. >> robert. thank you. thank you for bringing some voices from the streets, from people who are part of what's going on now in ferguson. we have guests in the studio, michael dens ill smith, a contributing writer to the nation, and cory, founder of the law enforcement alliance, and a former official to the new york city police department. >> let me start with you. you have been watching the developments tonight, watching everything over the past week. is there any way to put in a

nutshell what is going on. >> michael brown was shot and killed by a police officer in ferguson, missouri, and in the aftermath they have not been forthcoming with enough information, have not been transparent in their investigation, and seem to disparage the character of michael brown in the process of people protesting their mishandling of the shooting. in the immediate aftermath michael brown was shot and killed and his body left for four hours in the street, for the community to see. the police have so many questions to answer for the people to be satisfied, and that's why we are seeing the protests out there now. that's why it's escalating because there's not enough information given to the people to satisfy their quest for justice. and then we are talking - then we are getting distracted into talking about the violence in the street, that would not be present if it were not for the

police presence of excessive force and the show of force out there, and they are doing it in response to a show of excessive force by killing michael brown. if we had more answers, if the police were being more transearnt in this investigation. if it appeared that they were looking for answers to why this was done, darren wilson, the officer that shot michael brown was not ooep in the state of missouri. why is that? why is he not in custody, why does he not file an incident report. all of these things coming up. do you think that there is anyone in authority right now in ferguson that the team trust. i don't see why they would. i don't see why they would. captain ron johnson, in charge of the highway patrol, he seemed

to have a better relationship with the people of ferguson, he's from there, he's a citizens. why would they trust anyone in power right now? . they have no reason to when someone in power shot and killed one of their own, a young man on his way to college, and, two, in the aftermath it's been so mishandled and seemed to denigrate michael brown even in death. why would they trust anyone. >> you are seeing tonight's developments. i understand as you have written, we are talking about - we are not talking about a snapshot. not forgetting what happened this past sunday when michael brown was killed. what do you make of what is going on tonight. what's going on is the

continuation of the protest. and it's the continuation of the police response to the protest and it's less about keeping people safe. the tank rolling down the street, it's not necessary. we saw the night there wasn't the show of force, it was peaceful. you allow this to keep going on, in that the police are not being transparent with the investigation of michael brown's death. that is when the temperature is starting to boil over. they are getting more agitated and angry, on top of dealing with the police. >> hold that point, michael denzel smith, contributing writer for "the nation." we move on to another aspect of nation, scenes of officer in riot gears and armoured vehicles

have been putting a spotlight on equipment used and training they get. paul beban has that story. >> that's right. another night of contraried pictures, and you see the tactical vehicles with police officers on top, really in what looks like a sniper's nest with the rifles trained on a crowd that is nonviolent. what experts are saying, this is a result of a government programme. all over the country. some of the places don't have a major crime problem, much less worry about terrorism. it's making the police forces look like occupying armies. >> reporter: for decades the united states has been arming the police departments for battle, directing the department of defense to hand out surplus equipment to local law

enforcement. it began in the 1990s, as part of the effort on the war on drugs. it's called the 10:33 programme. it is supplied more than 8,000 agencies with everything from machine-guns to grenade launchers, bomb disposal launches, a total of 4.3 billion worth of the gear since 1997. the showdown between protesters and police raised questions about the programme, all the way to the white house. >> there's a big difference between the military and law enforcement. we don't want the lines blurred. i think there'll be bipartisan interest in re-examining some of the those programs. >> reporter: critics say a problem is a lack of training, to go with the hardware. we don't know the training that

he is officers in ferguson receive. i would say that they receive poor training or they ignored the good training that they had received some time ago, or they were given no training at all. >> ferguson residents told al jazeera that police don't seem to know how to dole with peaceful protests. we are not able to be heard. police tell us that we have to do certain things. actually, it's poor tactics. i don't know. even if local police officerses are being trained, critics like tim lynch wonder whether it is appropriate for law enforcement. some of them have been training with units of the special forces. this is very disturbing because our special forces operate overseas in a theatre of battle. they are not trauned to deal

with people who have constitutional rights. people who are protected by the constitution of the united states. their mission is to find the energy source. >> search and destroy, different from serve and protect. the 10:33 programme requires that the police departments use that equipment within a year of receiving it, which means if they want to keep the new year, to deploy it. critics say it's a use it or lose it issue. which makes it no way to run a programme. you heard the president mention taking a look at 10:33. i want to go out to robert ray. what is going on down there now? >> moment and moments is what the situation is.

3-4 minutes ago someone ran up the street. the police then left their line and ran up with their guns out, and ready. and the next thing you go, a crowd comes our way here. that same tactical line came up to the tuck shot, with the guns like this. not clear what had happened. one of the reporters on the ground said that she saw someone run up the streets. that amtated the police department. this is very much moment to moment. these situations - one person does something, it can have a big domino effect. >> sounds like they are surging back and forth. all it takes is a little provocation to set things off moment to moment. thanks, robert. >> randall - thank you, paul, and robert ray on the ground in

ferguson. before we break away a question for the inspector. the use of military-style gear, heavy gear, what do you make of that. that's a recent development. the n.y.p.d. - it's hard to - they are the biggest department in the country, we deal with stuff where we have to deploy that. i can count on one hand, as many times as i seen it deployed, if i was there or not. i don't understand why the small police department of 53 people have armoured vests - i understand the vests, but the tanks, m-rap. it's making no sense. >> to the point of getting to a place were there can be some kind of healing.

no easy job, but you said you would begin by trying to get the police officer to interact with the community. here is my question. i'll put it to you? do you think that the community could be persuaded to interact with authorities within an idea or goal toward brim building. is it necessary to get to the next step? >> what is necessary is what is the job of a plif. what is a job of a police department within a city. too often the answer that we have come up with is that police are supposed to prevent crime, leading to the interactions. we have given this armed force the responsibility of ending all crime within their communities. and that is not something that they can do. it's not within the

capabilities. we know what ends crime, what will reduce crime. it's investment in the communities, in terms of housing, education, jobs, recreation. they are the things that when they are available to a community, reduce the crime rate. it's not about a police presence. if we are reducing crime and people are in fear, are we bettering ourselves as a society, is that a civil society we want to exist in. we have to redefine the job description of what police officers are supposed to do. >> if you live in an apartment in brooklyn and someone broke in and took your stuff, who would you calm? >> i'm not calling anyone. >> not the cops. >> i'm calling the police as a young black man, and i don't know what that interaction will look like. if i ride the train every day,

and i'm scared because i see police officers riding the train. i don't know what the interaction. i don't know if they think i'm the one that stole things in my own apartment. that is the situation we have. why would i purpose fully interact with the police force that i have been all of my life instructed to fear by the actions of those police officers. we have to get to a point where we are not asking police officers - that's the issue. if we got to a place where the only time we needed to call police, and the only response that they needed was to respond to something of community need. and they were to de-escalate a situation. i think that that's a job description we could get behind. right now what we have is police

forces being charged with going into communities and seeking out the criminal element and reducing the dare dare their access to weapons or drugs or whatever it is, and making sure that they don't - that they don't cause crime and participate in crime in the first place. that is not something that i believe they can do. >> okay. very interesting perspective. one that is sort of at odds with what you are training, and i suppose the understanding of people of my generation have been taught about the role of police officers. >> i don't have a lot of push-back on that. from his generation, that's the way it is, that's what they see. >> i'm not going to say that. i have young sons, a 26-year-old and an 18-year-old son, and that's not what they are taught. i have nephews and neighbours. they are not taught that the police are bad. they are taught to respect the

police. they are there for a purpose - protect, serve, preserve the life. do we have incidents like ferguson once in a while? yes. people are arrested every day. people resist every until day. thousands across the country. you don't hear about them getting shot. when there's one incident like this, this is where the discord is with the police. when there's one incident like this, you are culpable for the death, and the community are going to press you on it. >> do you think the officer should be arrested, yes or no? >> if the investigation leads to that, yes. >> we have to take a break. it's a tension situation in ferguson. we go back to our reporter, robert ray, on the scene in just a moment. stay with us, al jazeera america.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm randall pinkston in for john seigenthaler. we wanted to recap a busy and tense night in ferguson, missouri. you are looking live at the streets of ferguson, where there is a standoff between police and protesters. it's been like this for hours. it all began, of course, last saturday with the police shooting death of michael brown,

an unarmed black teenager. earlier tad president obama said attorney general eric holder would be heading to ferguson this wednesday. the shooting is now a federal investigation. let's go back now to robert ray on the streets of ferguson. any developments in the past 5 minutes, robert? >> it's been quiet again. i'm joined by reverent diana tackman. you've been out here. you are emotional. you were tearing up. you were talking to a young man, a protestor. what were you telling him. tell the viewers? >> let's go home and rest the bodies and fight for justice tomorrow. for tonight, we have been out here all day, and they asked us to move. they have been great tonight. law enforcement allowed the

leaders to command ear, to walk peacefully with - even though we were not given the totally of the first amendment rights. heed he would not leave. i stressed if i was shot or one of these other people are shot. you would be okay with that. he said he would be okay with that. and i left him. because i knew at that point. >> we asked for him to talk to us. he did not want to. he ran away. clearly he... >> at least he ran away. is he still here? >> he ran toward the police line. hopefully he went home. hopefully this missage - do you feel like this is a calming - the beginning of a calm in here. if they allow us to appeal, we have leaders out here from a

plethora of faith, different professions, from d.c., brooklyn, leaders who we wanted here. we walked with them. gave them water, and they marched. and when those get rowdy, policed them. so when we are giving the full freedom to nurture and take care of the community, we can do that. maybe there are times we won't be able to do anything. when we are. >> the tactical movement moving down again. >> we want to be given the opportunity to do that. i want them to go home. we do need to go home. the police are - this is the moment we are talking about. >> we have to be mobile. >> we do have to be moment.

>> this is the moment to moment we were discussing earlier. >> let's be obeid yet and be mobile. >> you here the reverent saying obedient and be mobile. unclear what the tactic is at this point. >> it's perflexing that no curfew was called, and yet - what are you looking at, a 3-block area of activity there. >> it's three to four blocks, heading three blocks down there, as you know the police line is to my left, 50 yards away. we are going to go back over here and go back to the line, it appears. i don't know. i watch it go buy. but no curfew. you made a great point.

that's - perhaps that's the reason why everyone is still out here. >> thank you very much for your reporting tonight. we'll thank our guests, former inspector from the new york city police don't and michael denzel smith, writer to the nation. thank you for joining us and giving us your insights on what you see here in ferguson. we are hoping and keeping our fingers crossed for peace, for no one to be injured or suffer harm, and for the people's rights to protest to be protected by authorities. with that, we want to recap a busy, tense night in missouri, you are looking live at the streets where people are there, and leaders, we are told, are trying to help keep the protesters from getting into a

violent confrontation with police, and where police are standing guard along with the national guard, and state authorities. we'll continue to update the story as developments warrant. >> "america tonight" is next.

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on "america tonight", new clashes in the streets. the national guard called in to take control. but an autopsy report threatens to explode tensions anew. what do investigators now know about the shooting that took michael brown said life? the new fears that forced the community to call off the first day of school. and what another hot august night might bring.