WASHINGTON, October 15, (RIA Novosti) - The protests against police shootings, which took place in the St. Louis area in the US state of Missouri, including the suburban city of Ferguson, at the weekend, were peaceful despite dozens of arrests, Nick Green, an organizer of local advocacy group Hands Up Don't Shoot told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
"I'm satisfied with the protests, but not at the situation as a whole," said Green.
"I've seen some changes in the mood and the attitudes of some of the officers," Green added. "But I can't say for certain if that's just because their feelings have changed or if it's because they're tired."
Green says that although he is satisfied by the outcome of the protests for now, the community and law enforcement still need to build more tolerance towards one another before moving forward.
In Ferguson, 49 arrests were made outside of a local police department during the "weekend of resistance" protests, according to St. Louis County police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schellman.
Schellman pointed out that police officers respected the protesters' wish for peaceful protests over the weekend.
"We didn't make arrests until yesterday, most of those people stated to the police who were arrested that they wanted to be arrested," said Schellman.
The recent wave of protests in the St. Louis area were triggered after 18-year-old African-American male Michael Brown was shot dead by a white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson on August 9, followed by the fatal shooting of another St. Louis black teenager - 18-year-old Vonderrit Myers - by an off-duty white police officer last Wednesday.
On Tuesday, state authorities in Missouri released the crime laboratory results of Myers revealing that gunpowder residue tested positive on his hands and clothing. The results prove that Myers may have been armed, despite his family members' claim that he was unarmed during the shooting.
The laboratory results read that the presence of gunshot residue on a person's hands could mean the individual discharged a firearm, was near a firearm when it was discharged, or touched an object with gunshot residue on it. Individuals shot at close range can have gunshot residue deposited onto their hands.
St. Louis County police confirmed that officers in the county are on alert for other protests that may occur over the week.
