Protesters Continue to Target Ferguson Convenience Store in the Name of Michael Brown

Protesters have been gathering outside of Ferguson Market and Liquor since Aug. 9 — the fourth anniversary of the police shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. — calling on the convenience store to take more ownership of its role in the saga and submit to a list of requests.

Brown had just left the store before the fatal skirmish with then-Officer Darren Wilson in the street near Canfield Green apartments in 2014. After the shooting, Ferguson police released a surveillance clip from the store indicating that Brown had stolen cigarillos and shoved a store clerk.

Protesters believe that the surveillance clip mischaracterized Brown and that the store should have done more to say so. Recent protests at Ferguson Market have been strong enough to close the store the first week, Jay Kanzler, an attorney for the store, said Saturday when the store was open again.

Police said there had been no arrests.

{snip} The protester group had the following requests:

• Address Michael Brown Jr.’s character.
• Close the store for three days on the anniversary of his death.
• Create a scholarship in his name.
• Find ways to interact and give back to the community.
• Stop selling Dormin, a sleeping capsule, and other items that can be misused to get high.
• Retain a black-owned security company to protect the store.

{snip}

Kanzler said the store ultimately agreed to all of the requests by Wednesday, other than closing the store for three days. Instead, he said, the store would close on the anniversary of Brown’s death and provide a free barbecue the day before.

In a letter, with jointly agreed-upon language, to protest leaders that were at the Aug. 17 meeting, Ferguson Market said it recognized there was a “perception that it played a role in fostering negative opinions of Michael Brown Jr. post-August 9th,” and it wanted to restore relationships with the community. “The Market understands that this perception has hurt the relationship it has enjoyed with many of its customers for years. It is hopeful that the Market can restore those relationships by taking meaningful steps to eliminate this perception.”

But in recent days, Kanzler said, protest leaders told him that they weren’t interested in going through with the agreement anymore and that the only thing that would resolve the matter was if the store was sold to them. He said formal offers hadn’t been made.

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Ferguson Market has disputed the documentary. On Saturday, Kanzler referred to it as “lies.”

He said the store had been investigated by federal, state and local police. He said the store didn’t parcel out footage. He said police subpoenaed nearly two weeks’ worth of surveillance video leading up to incident — and assured that it would not be released.

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