The Governor of Missouri has declared a local state of emergency and imposed a curfew on Ferguson, hit by riots after the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by police.
Speaking at a press conference, Governor Jay Nixon said that the curfew would be in place from midnight until 5am.
Missouri State Highway Patrol’s take-over of policing in the suburb of St Louis on Friday saw a period of calm, but tensions flared again, with renewed rioting and looting.
The Washington Post reported that the flare-up may be due to the controversial decision by Ferguson police to name the victim Michael Brown as the prime suspect in a robbery, releasing a video showing a suspect, named by Ferguson police as Brown, threatening a worker.
Missouri highway patrol criticised the decision and federal authorities also objected to the publication of the video, saying that it could raise tensions within the community
Missouri State Highway Patrol takes over security in Ferguson (15 August 2014)