Missouri police will not release the name of the cop involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager on Saturday that has fueled racial tensions and sparked nights of protests and rioting.
The officer has since been placed on administrative leave after shooting and killing 18-year-old Michael Brown in the Ferguson suburb of St. Louis, but his name has not been disclosed due to death threats received from calls and social media posts, authorities said according to Fox News.
"If we come out and say, 'It was this officer,' then he immediately becomes a target," said Police Chief Tom Jackson. "We're taking the threats seriously."
The officer's race has also not been released, but witnesses said he was white.
A friend who was with Brown the night he died said they were on their way home when the officer pulled up in a car and told them to get onto the sidewalk, the friend, 22-year-old Dorian Johnson, told KDSK. An altercation ensued and the officer pursued Brown with his weapon drawn, eventually shooting the teen several times, according to Johnson.
Brown was shot as he was running away with his hands raised in the air, Johnson said.
Authorities have not released much information about the incident, except that there was a struggle and a shooting after Brown was asked to move off the street, according to Fox News.
On Tuesday, Reverend Al Sharpton urged police to release the officer's name.
"The local authorities have put themselves in a position- hiding names and not being transparent- where people will not trust anything but an objective investigation," Sharpton said at a press conference in St. Louis along with Brown's parents.
Sharpton also called for peaceful demonstrations in the wake of Brown's death. But riots and looting have erupted in Ferguson, with mobs vandalizing cars and setting fire to shops amidst confusion and outrage at the apparent moral injustice.
St. Louis County police are investigating Brown's death, Fox News reported. The FBI has also launched an investigation into the shooting.
