Following police shootings, a night of peaceful protests in Ferguson

Demonstrators protests in front of the police station in Ferguson, Missouri. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

By Wesley Lowery March 13 at 2:13 AM

FERGUSON, MO – After a tense day here as law enforcement hunted for a suspect who shot and wounded two police officers, the night ended on Thursday without any notable clashes between police officers and the anti-police brutality protesters who have demonstrated for the last seven months.

While protests had dwindled in recent weeks, they were reignited after the Justice Department issued a scathing report about Ferguson Police Department, which prompted the resignations of the police chief, local municipal judge and town manager. Then, late Wednesday, with demonstrators thinning out, gunshots rang out and two officers were hit.

For much of the day, questions hung over the protests: Would they continue to demonstrate even after the shootings of two police officers?

But protest leaders were insistent they would not be scapegoated for the shootings, and that their demonstrations would continue.

“The same problems and issues that existed yesterday exist today,” said DeRay McKesson, one of the most visible protest leaders. “The protests continue, the movement lives.”

Around 8 p.m. Thursday, about a dozen members of clergy gathered several blocks away from the police department for a prayer vigil. Clutching candles, they said prayers for the officers as well as for the protesters — and for victims of police shootings.

“We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes,” the clergy, a diverse group, sang before embarking on a march up S. Florissant Avenue.

At one point, as many as 50 or 60 protesters stood in front of the police station, at times blocking traffic. But at no point did officers begin making arrests. As of 10 p.m. local time, several dozen protesters remained, chanting “black lives matter.” By a little after midnight, the crowd had dispersed.

Officers policing stood in plain clothes, rather than riot gear. A line of police vehicles was parked in front of them, providing cover from any attempt to repeat the gunfire from the night before.

Wesley Lowery covers Capitol Hill for The Fix and Post Politics.