Amnesty International has reported that its observers have been aimed at and gassed by riot police in public space amid a crackdown on violent protests underway in the US city of Ferguson over a grand jury’s decision not to press charges against a white policeman for killing an unarmed African-American teenager in August.
“Police raid safe space. Amnesty observers gassed,” Steven Hawkins, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, said Tuesday on his official Twitter account.
Just In: Police raid safe space. @Amnesty observers gassed. #Ferguson #EyesOnFerguson
— Steven W Hawkins (@StevenWHawkins) November 25, 2014
“Was just in a cafe full of people resting from the Ferguson protests when police shot tear gas at safe space,” Deputy Executive Director for Field Organizing at Amnesty International USA Rachel O’Leary said.
Was just in a cafe full of people resting from the #Ferguson protests when police shot tear gas at safe space pic.twitter.com/ZI73DxcCpD
— Rachel O'Leary (@racheloleary) November 25, 2014
According to Hawkins, Amnesty observers had been affected by tear gas used by police to disperse protesters in “3 separate locations.”
.@Amnesty observers in 3 separate locations have all been tear gassed. #Ferguson
— Steven W Hawkins (@StevenWHawkins) November 25, 2014
Major protests erupted late Monday in Ferguson, in St. Louis County, Missouri, when a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, in August.Riot police responded with tear gas, batons and flash grenades, and running battles broke out in the streets of the St. Louis suburb, with armored cars moving slowly through the area.
Journalist Tim Pool, who is in Ferguson right now, and filmmaker Orlando de Guzman “witnessed Ferguson police gas an unconscious woman & the people trying to help” overnight.
Tonight @timcast and I witnessed Ferguson police gas an unconscious woman & the people trying to help. http://t.co/kakT6DsfXt @thisisfusion
— Orlando de Guzman (@terrible_editor) November 25, 2014
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