CLAYTON, Mo. — A cold, steady rain dampened the start of weekend protests over the death of Michael Brown and other fatal police shootings in the St. Louis area and elsewhere that demonstrators say are racially motivated.
Organizers of the four-day Ferguson October events expected 6,000 participants from the local area and across the country, but the initial protest Friday outside the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office in Clayton didn’t draw nearly that amount.
Protesters huddled under umbrellas, raincoats and ponchos as they renewed their call for county prosecutor Bob McCulloch to charge Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson officer, in the Aug. 9 death of the unarmed Brown, who was black. A grand jury is reviewing the case.
Police in Clayton reported no arrests, and officers escorted the several hundred marchers through the suburb’s downtown.
