Down the hole. And why the debate has already begun over an announcement the president has yet to make. All in starts right now. Good evening from new york, im chris hayes, an extremely tense scene at the moment as evening descends on ferguson missouri, and despite an assertion from police that there is no kerr few, we are seeing images like this one, along with word that the department of defense provided surplus military equipment to the Ferguson Police department as part of a program that distributes that to civilian Police Forces across the country according to usa today. This comes after another tumultuous day in ferguson, the body of Michael Brown was released today to his grieving family, four days after he was shot to death by a Police Officer. And after his body lay on the street for hours afterward. Police arguing they needed time to conduct zhu diligence. After an autopsy was conducted with the results largely kept secret. St. Louis county Police Release autopsy results. He died of gunshot wounds. They did not release how many times the teenager was shot or what side of his body the bullets entered from. Those should be available in the next four weeks. Final and full autopsy should be available at that time according to st. Louis county police. There is a toxicology test performed on the officer in question, according to Ferguson Police chief tom jackson. As for the third apparent principle in this incident, Dorian Johnson who says he was walking alongside his friend Michael Brown when it all happened, and who claims a u. N. , the Unnamed Police officer was the aggressor, st. Louis county Police Department told the Huffington Post that approximately 4 45 eastern time, authorities were speaking with mr. Johnson. Last night there were for the fourth day running, protests, reporters on the scene near the quick trip, close to where Michael Brown was shot and killed, have said the protest was largely nonviolent. They used tear gas after bottles flew at officers. Tom jackson requested citizens to peacefully protest Daylight Hours. This is a request only, there is no kerr few being imposed as long as traffic is not being blocked. Protests are still at night. The police chief also addressed rumors circulating after the shooting. There were threats against an officers life, and so out of abundance of caution, we weighed the value of releasing the name right now against the safety factor to both him and his family and his neighborhood, and we opted to postpone that. A reference, the departments continued withholding of the name of the Police Officer in question. The one who shot and killed Michael Brown. Chief jackson said hes planning to meet with Michael Browns family, the local head of the naacp and a head of the justice department. There appeared to be a concerted effort to reach out to the community over the last 24 hours. A town hall last night and again today, chief jackson wants to turn around negative perceptions. What really breaks my heart, some in this community consider me part of the problem. Im going to change that, i want to be part of the solution. Race relations is a top priority right now, im working with the department of justice to improve that. Tonight at this very moment, images like this are coming out, that is a sniper atop the s. W. A. T. Vehicle. Images like this, that is where things stand right now, four days after Michael Brown was killed. As the community continues to demand answers, as night begins to fall on ferguson missouri. Briefly unable to get to that counter position, im glad to see you there. What is it like on the ground there, what do you see . I tell you what, chris, last night and all day, people have been asking for peace, and hoping for a smooth transition into this evening. We didnt get that tonight. A s. W. A. T. Team has assembled to block off the street. What began with an impromptu city, sit down for Michael Brown. Protesters joined her, blocking the street. Then the police with the big apparatus and demanding that people disburse. They arrested the first man i saw, was an older man in on crutches. The second was a young lady who was yelling at a Police Officer, and so they were hoping for a smooth transition, theyre not getting it. Authorities asked that if people wanted to protest and hold a prayer vigil, they hold prayer during the daytime. Thats what they attempted to do. Police officers as well mannered as they have been, have been a divisive measure in this community. A few blocks away, where i was stuck, the community is asking, why cant we assemble. Theyre saying disburse, go to your homes. The tension is still thick. Theres a church group trying to keep moral high. On the other side, you have still sieging young people, who dont understand why they cant voice their opinions about whats going on, its anything but smooth right now. I have to say, the images that were showing right now, we see about five or six dozen officers in military camouflage, wears combat boots, Holding Assault weapons, and often assault weapons like you see right there on the top of that vehicle pointed in the direction of, if im not mistaken, citizens peacefully, nonviolently assembling in the middle of the street, is that correct . Where i was standing, there was a middle aged gentleman walking to his home. They had their rifle trained right on him, i was about 100 feet away, i tried to step close to let him know i was trying to get through. Disburse. If theyre trying to ease tension. If theyre trying to build good rapport with the community right now, its not going so well. It is very difficult to understand why anyone is pointing any weapons at anyone, frankly. I have to say, but particularly. Again, they said today they were supposed to be able to assemble peacefully. Given the fact you today had an exclusive interview with the chief of police, in which he sounded quite reasonable, quite contrite, he sounded like his main priority was to ease community tensions. What was that conversation like, and how do you square the conversation with what is happening, not 100 feet from where you are . Talking to the police chief last night, looking into this mans eyes, i believed him, hes saying that hes wanting to eat he said hes been here all his life. He had been on the county police force for 31 years, he wanted the community to heal. What we see tonight, its bigger than the chief of ferguson, as you know, the county police have taken over the investigation, the federal authorities are keeping an eye out, its much bigger than that police chief. If they hope to have some semblance of peace tonight, some semblance of calm, im not sure if this is the way to do it, thats not working out well with the people in this community. We should note that the vehicles as far as ive seen, the vehicles that are there, the armored personnel carriers and s. W. A. T. Vehicles are marked with st. Louis county police, it is, i believe, am i correct that it is st. Louis county police that have taken over the investigation of Michael Browns death, it also seems, taken over the response to protesters in ferguson . Which seems kind of like its a mixed bag here, so on one hand theyre protecting barriers, creating perimeters and pushing back against some protesters, saying hurling expletives at them, on the other side, theyre in charge of this investigation, with so many layers and complexities to this case, and as we know, everything is hanging in the balance of this community. People are dion madding charges, and were far from that, chris, but as we know, this is a serious situation, and every single moment, every single day is getting more complicated. Weve seen there were two events last night, theres one at a church near ferguson, one in a nearby suburb, that both police chief and the governor attended. Is there any sense . It seems to me in the absence of information, in the absence of information about who this Police Officer was, the ability to see if he has a record, the absence of information about the autopsy, that its going to be very hard to satiate peoples thirst for justice and answers with any kind of talk from officials if that information isnt being given over, is that your sense from talking to people there . Certainly, chris. The longer they drag their feet on this, theres the appearance that they are trying to hide something and cover something up. Especially in the last couple days, that i spoke to doreen johnson. Details how Michael Brown was shot in the back, thats a key piece of this case. When you talk to anyone in the community, they have ideas, rumor or effect, that sticks with him. They feel he was shot and killed like an animal and left in the street. We know they know the results of the preliminary autopsy, the people dont know, we dont know this officers name or history. And so until we get to that point, theres still so many more questions and answers, but day by day as weve seen every single night, the situation here is growing increasingly tense, so well see, chris. Ive been seeing reports, one of the aspects here is in terms of the perception that there is something to hide, whether or not that is an accurate perception, the perception has partly been furthered by actions that seem to be targeted at the press reporting about this, you were blocked briefly from getting to the camera position, im seeing reports on social media of possible arrests outside of mcdonalds, a reporter i know was asked for i. D. In that mcdonalds. Is there a sense that police are trying to make sure they control them, and control what they see . At least controlling the circumstances, so whether they are trying to cover something up or protect people, or at least just be a barrier between the press and images they dont want us to see. When folks are sitting down and people are saying, lets leave, because they thought they were showing off for the cameras. No, keep the cameras on, if theyre going to tear gas us, tear gas us during the day, let the cameras catch it. When youre in these type of circumstances and no one has any answers, theyre left to their own devices to try to figure out what the truth is. They get a piece here, a piece there. Its dangerous. That danger struck me by something i saw in an article in the post. We saw it addressed by the police chief, a name had begun to circulate in the community of who this officer is, thats the question on everyones mind, its not a large force. 55 officers, its not even a particularly large town. And it does seem like the longer you keep that withheld, the more you create a vacuum into which rumor will naturally flow. Naturally. But again, and not to necessarily credit Law Enforcements efforts, but to release this name now, there are some very angry people in this community. We shouldnt assume that the people in this community would resort to violence against this officer, but again, this is a very tense, a very racially fraught situation. I understand they want to keep it guarded. But again, part and part it seems like theyre building this quilt between the people and the truth. The police chief said he wants the truth, and Everyone Wants justice, whatever that means to whichever side youre on. Until we get some information, until the people get some information, and the press, that we can scour over it and analyze it and see whats going on. This situation will grow more and more dire, i believe. I want you to stay with me, we have you live at the scene. Joining me now is jeffrey mitman. My understanding is that yesterday your office filed under the sunshine laws of missouri, a request for the incident report that would contain the name of the Police Officer. Do you think theres a strong public right to know who this officer is at this point . Chris, absolutely, and again, thank you for letting us share what weve done. The aclu believes that in this situation where the public is tense and needs to know that the rule of law is being followed we must start with the police doing the right thing. That is following the sunshine law. It sets forth that the Government Works for the people. One way we keep a check and balance on the government is by having information on what theyre doing. Its clear that an incident report like this, is a public record. We have asked the st. Louis county police and the Ferguson County Police to turn it over, so the community can see we are starting this investigation on the right path, a lawful path. What do you say to those like the police chief who say there may be a legitimate cause for concern about the safety of that officer if his name were released . You know, there are always reasons to not follow the law, to suspend the constitution, to not adhere to our american values. What you are hearing tonight, we had to write another letter today to the chief of police of ferguson, telling him that his statement about protecting First Amendment activity is wrong. So you can always find excuses. Its at times of crisis where we as americans have to follow the rule of law, and have to honor the values of our constitution, theres never a good excuse for the government to act illegally. The aclu also had some thoughts today in a letter directed to Ferguson County Police about the way theyve handled protests, do you believe that the way that ferguson missouri is handling protests and handling protests at this moment, right where he is is essentially a proper enforcement a proper protection of the First Amendment rights to peaceably assemb assemble . Absolutely not. From what weve seen, the chief of police would understand that he may have gone back and the written statement, the actions that your reporters are talking about are absolutely violations of the First Amendment. Heres the problem, if the police are doing through intimidation or the chief of police is doing through a hint or a request, what is forbidden by the constitution, thats problematic. To intimidate reporters, to intimidate protesters, to ask for respectful protests is absolutely improper, we are calling on the chief of police to make a clear and unequivocal statement to advise his officers that the First Amendment will be respected. Protesters have the right to gather at nighttime. They have the right to be on the streets and sidewalks in a respectful manner and an unrespectful manner as long as they are peaceful. My sense is that the argument made by chief jackson is that the protesters in the street, that that essentially obstructs commerce. You could just make a judgment that youre just going to let folks peaceably assemble in the middle of the street, and on the hole, life will go on. Or the idea that you can assemble period. At this point, theres a sense that they cant assemble peaceably on the sidewalk, in the street, they cant peaceably assemble, and the problem is, i spoke to one young person earlier who said, were waiting for this moment. For them to get an opportunity to express themselves one way or another, thats whats hanging in the balance here. I think it would be important for the Law Enforcement to tread carefully here. After a day in which the message was from Ferguson County Police that you can peaceably assemble in Daylight Hours on the sidewalk, you were saying even people who have peaceably gathered on sidewalks in Daylight Hours are being dispersed by the police there . Oh, certainly, the sitin on the ground, there was one group who decided to sit down, there was another group who said lets go, lets march, peaceably, respectably. After the groups dispersed, there was a group on the road where the young man was killed, theyre stuck there. Older women saying, ive been here all my life, i cant express myself. Young people saying, we cant assemble during the daytime, whats going to happen at night. Even though theyve called for peace and made this suggestion, strong suggestion that if you want to gather, you gather during the daytime. The sun has not set yet and theyre not allowing people to do that. Msnbc. Com National Reporter gentlemen, thank you both opinion. Thank you. Thank you, chris. Theres lots more news tonight including another young black man shot dead by police in a story the outlines of which look very troubling. Were going to talk to the familys attorney ahead, dont go away. This weekend a mother in los angeles read about the tragic case of mike brown being shot and thanked god it was not her son. On monday she was informed her son was killed by the lapd. Well talk to the family ahead. I know what youre thinking. Youre thinking beneful. [announcer]and why wouldnt he be . Beneful has wholesome grains,real beef,even accents of spinach,carrots and peas. It has carbohydrates for energy and protein for those serious muscles. [guy] aarrrrr [announcer]even accents of vitaminrich veggies. [guy] so happy you love it so much. Yes you do but its good for you,too. [announcer] healthful. Flavorful. Beneful. From purina. In the nation, the safest feature in your car is you. Add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get 100 off for every year of safe driving. Which for you, shouldnt be a problem. Just another way we put members first, because we dont have shareholders. Join the nation. Nationwide is on your side. The shooting death of the unarmed teenager of Michael Brown comes news from los angeles of another case of a young black man shot, killed, by the lapd. Ktla in los angeles, reporting that ezel ford died after being shot by police during an investigative stop. Lapd officers tried to stop ford who was walking along the sidewalk in the 200 block of west 65th street when a struggle ensued. Witnesses who saw police stop ford and fatally shoot him, say that i