FERGUSON, Missouri – A citywide curfew went into effect hours after the governor declared a state of emergency in this largely African-American suburb of St. Louis where protests and the disproportionate police response roiled the community following the killing one week ago of an unarmed black teenager.
The number of loyal protesters dwindled in the countdown to the curfew deadline as heavy bouts of rain and community mediators managed to tamper down the crowd that gathered throughout the day. Ferguson’s 20,000 residents were ordered to stay indoors between midnight and 5 a.m. as police manned road blocks and patrolled the streets, restricting any movement by residents who flooded to the main area of protests during the early evening hours calling for justice in the killing of Michael Brown, who was shot dead by a police officer in broad daylight on Aug. 9.
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