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CBS News said:Last Updated Aug 11, 2014 1:38 AM EDT
FERGUSON, Mo. -- People smashed car windows and carried away armloads of looted goods from stores Sunday night after thousands of people packed a suburban St. Louis area at a vigil for an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by a police officer.
The candlelight gathering was for 18-year-old Michael Brown, who police said was shot multiple times Saturday after a scuffle involving the officer, Brown and another person in Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb of the city.
Afterward, some people looted a convenience store. Several other stores along a main road near the shooting scene were broken into and looted, including a check-cashing store, a boutique and a small grocery store.
People were seen carrying bags of food and toilet paper. TV footage showed streams of people walking out of a liquor store carrying bottles of alcohol, and in some cases protesters were standing atop police cars or taunting officers who stood stoic, often in riot gear.
Other witnesses reported seeing people vandalize police cars and kick in windows. Television footage showed windows busted out of a TV station van.
"Right now, the small group of people are creating a huge mess," Ferguson's mayor, James Knowles, told St. Louis KTVI-TV. "Contributing to the unrest that is going on is not going to help. ... We're only hurting ourselves, only hurting our community, hurting our neighbors. There's nothing productive from this."
As the investigation of Brown's death progresses, "we understand people want to vent their frustrations. We understand they want to speak out," Knowles added. "We're going to obviously try to urge calm."
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said there were no reports of injuries but confirmed widespread property damage. "Right now I'm just worried about people, not property," he said.
Missouri police shooting of teen Michael Brown sparks protests, looting, vandalism - CBS News
The looting and violence is in response to the shooting of Michael Brown when, according to police, Brown and another man assaulted the police officer, there was a struggle and shots were fired, ultimately killing Brown. The two men in the alleged assault were not armed. However, a different account was provided by one Dorian Johnson, who says the struggle was initiated by the police officer, who assaulted Brown - Brown broke free and started to run when the police officer then shot Brown.
The point of this post is NOT justifying or dismissing the shooting which was the flashpoint of the violence (though I am resigned to the fact it will devolve into that at some point) but I'm more interested in why looting is the preferred method of showing distrust and dissatisfaction with police actions, when the owners of these stores which were broken into have absolutely NOTHING to do with the police shooting. Why is looting and destroying innocent people's livelihoods the preferred method of action in these circumstances? We see this time and time again - and I'm reminded of the 1992 So.Central LA riots.