Local Editor

A U.S. police officer was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday for pointing a semi-automatic assault rifle at a peaceful demonstrator in Missouri as tensions flared during protests over the Aug. 9 police shooting of black teenager Michael Brown.

The incident just before midnight on Tuesday punctuated the 11th straight night of demonstrations in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson in the U.S. state of Missouri, since Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was slain by a police officer.

Moreover, the incident underscored what many have criticized as heavy-handed and unprofessional police tactics that have helped stoke continuing civil unrest in the area.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team