Chief: 2 officers shot in Ferguson were 'ambushed'

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[h=4]Chief: 2 officers shot in Ferguson were 'ambushed'[/h]he two police officers who were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department during a late-night demonstration were ambushed and "lucky" to be alive, the police chief of St. Louis County said Thursday.

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While police still do not have a suspect in the shooting of two cops early Thursday morning in Ferguson, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar says a handgun was most likely the weapon used. VPC


An agent with the Department of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms arrives to investigate the scene outside the Ferguson (Mo.) Police Department on Thursday.(Photo: Michael B. Thomas, Getty Images)


FERGUSON, Mo. — The two police officers who were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department during a late-night demonstration were ambushed and "lucky" to be alive, the police chief of St. Louis County said Thursday, but he called for a "measured response" by officers to a community roiled by unrest.
"We were lucky by God's grace that we didn't lose two officers last night," Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters. "We could have buried two police officers over this ... It's a miracle we haven't had any instances similar to this in the summer and fall."
The two officers "took a very hard hit" and were in very serious conditions, but not expected to have long-term injuries, he said.
He said police do not have a suspect in in the shootings but have recovered bullet casings from the scene.

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Two police officers are hospitalized after being shot outside the Ferguson Police Department. One officer was hit in the face, the other in the shoulder. Protesters gathered there after the police chief announced his resignation on Wednesday. VPC

The shootings occurred around midnight as demonstrators were winding up a protest following the resignation of the city's police chief in the wake of a scathing Justice Department report alleging bias in the police department and court.
"This is really an ambush," he said. "You can't see it coming. You don't understand that it's going to happen and you're basically defenseless from the fact that it is happening to you at the time. That is something that is very difficult to guard against when you have a group of officers standing in a large group and certainly gunfire directed at them."
Belmar said one of the officers, a 32-year-old, seven-year veteran from nearby Webster Groves, was shot below his right eye. The bullet remains lodged near his right ea, he said.
The second officer, a 41-year-old with 14 years on the St. Louis County force, was hit in the shoulder by a bullet that came out his back. Both were hospitalized in serious condition.
At the time of the shooting, Belmar said, the number of demonstrators had dwindled from around 150 to about 75 and the number of police at the scene had dropped to about 40.
He said the two wounded officers were standing in a line of 20 to 25 other officers when three or four shots were fired from about 125 feet away.
"I feel very confident that whoever did this was there for the wrong reason not the right reason," he said. "There was an unfortunate association with that gathering."

Police mobilize in the parking lot of the Ferguson Police Station after two police officers were shot while standing guard in front of the Ferguson Police Station on March 12.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP)

The shootings came hours after Ferguson officials announced that Police Chief Thomas Jackson, whose department received scathing criticism from the Justice Department for racially biased policing, will resign March 19.
Jackson, 57, became the third top city official to leave following the release of the Justice Department report. Judge Ronald Brockmeyer and City Manager John Shaw resigned earlier this week.
Lt. Col. Al Eickhoff is serving as acting chief until the city completes a nationwide search for a new police chief, the city said in a press release. Jackson will receive a severance payment of approximately $100,000 and health insurance for one year.
Belmar said he has called for a "measured response" to the shootings, but reserved the right to call upon the highway patrol for additional help if necessary.
He said police are planning to assess their security plans outside the Ferguson Police Department and talk to protesters and community leaders about how to move forward.
St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said he is continuing to have talks with Ferguson Mayor James Knowles about the possibility of St. Louis County police taking over the duties of the Ferguson police. No decision has been made but Stenger has said the county is ready to take over if needed.
He said Thursday that he was deeply concerned about the officers who had been shot and hopes to move forward with a plan.
"I would like to see a solution as we move forward that is in the best interest of the residents of Ferguson, and our county and our police department," he said.
Stenger added that he doesn't believe the shooting will setback any gains made in the city.
"I don't consider this incident a set back toward healing," he said. "I don't believe it's going to affect any healing process that is going on in the community. I think the community at large is fully supportive of these police officers and probably wishes the very best for them."
The shootings came as a shock to the crowds gathered outside the police department. DeRay McKesson, 29, one of the most visible protesters in Ferguson, was sitting in his car and about to tweet that the crowd was thinning out when he heard about four gunshots to his right.
"It was like pow, pow, pow, pow — like four consistent shots," he said. "I was looking straight up at the police department and I see an officer fall and I see officers surround him."
McKesson said protesters, who had been gathered at the police department since 8 p.m. Wednesday, hit the ground as soon as the shots rang out and scattered trying to get to safety amid the chaos.
"Every single gun any officer had was drawn and they were all behind something," he said, adding that officers ran and ducked behind cars and the department building.
St. Louis County Alderman posted a Vine showing people crawling on the ground after police reacted to the gunshots.
Heather De Mian, 44, of St. Charles, Mo., was live streaming the scene outside of the police department when the shots rang out.
"Those gunshots went right past my head," said De Mian, who is in a wheelchair and tried to duck down. "I tried to go down low so my head wasn't sticking out."
She said soon after the shots a swarm of St. Louis County Police crime scene cars showed up and later, a group of officers marched up the hill on a side street in the direction of where the sound of gunshots had come from.
Meanwhile, De Mian is adamant that the shooters were not with demonstrators.
"The shots came from a block away from the protests," she said. "It's incredibly dangerous to try to link the protesters to this without evidence. It could be someone trying to frame the protesters or someone who was aiming at the protesters and was a bad shot. Whoever shot put everyone's life in danger."
USA TODAY
Ferguson, Mo., police chief resigns



An Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed African-American teen Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson set off weeks of unrest and violence in the St. Louis suburb.
Wilson was not charged in Brown's killing and the Justice Department found no reason to bring civil rights charges against him. But a Justice Department review found the Ferguson Police Department engaged in a broad pattern of racially biased enforcement that permeated the city's justice system, including the use of unreasonable force against African-American suspects.
The report also criticized the city's municipal court system.
Contributing: Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY; Associated Press

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Two St. Louis County Police officers were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department early Thursday. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said one officer was shot in the shoulder and one was shot in the face. Both officers were conscious.

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