Ferguson marks anniversary of notorious US police shooting

Demonstrators on Sunday will take to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, a year after the police shooting of a black teen sparked violent unrest and renewed a national conversation about America's troubled race relations.

Hundreds of protesters began marking the anniversary of Michael Brown's death on Saturday, including one group that barbecued a pig onto which they had placed a police hat before offering its roasted head to officers at police headquarters.

Brown, 18, was shot dead by white police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014 and a subsequent decision not to indict Wilson prompted riots in Ferguson and raised tensions across the country.

Outrage over the deaths of Brown and a series of other black Americans at the hands of police in the past year has been channeled into a sustained nationwide movement with the social media hashtag #Blacklivesmatter becoming its rallying cry across the country.
Yet another high-profile shooting occurred Friday, when a Texas police officer fatally shot 19-year-old unarmed college football player Christian Taylor after he drove his vehicle through the front of a car dealership.

Earlier Saturday in Ferguson, protesters marched along one of the avenues hit by fierce rioting last November when a court decided not to indict Wilson.

- 'Killer cops have got to go!' -

The peaceful march, led by Brown's father, saw participants shout slogans such as "Hands up, don't shoot" and "We do this for who? We do this for Mike Brown."

Protesters grew more confrontational later, when around 200 people gathered outside the police headquarters chanting: "Hey hey, ho ho, these killer cops have got to go!"

Several protesters jumped over a barricade around the building and faced off with police officers, although the crowd eventually dispersed without violence.
At the earlier march, which ended at Brown's Normandy High School, his father -- also called Michael -- told reporters he was working hard at "keeping my son's life still around" and doing "whatever I can do to empower us as a people".

Asked what has changed in America's tortured race relations over the past year, he said: "Nothing, for me. Some families got justice through Michael Brown's legacy, and that helped them. But I'm still trying to get through."

On Sunday, protesters will observe silence for 4.5 minutes -- reflecting the 4.5 hours Brown's body lay face down in the street after the shooting before it was taken away.

They will also stage a silent march to a church and hold a religious service.

The riots that erupted in Ferguson spread to other US cities and energized debate on how white police officers in America treat blacks, especially young black men and particularly when it comes to the use of lethal force.