State of Emergency in Ferguson Is Lifted as Protests Ease

1	The St. Louis County executive, in a formal indication that tensions in Ferguson, Mo., had eased since an outbreak of gunfire on Sunday night, rescinded on Friday the emergency declaration that he had issued because of "criminal unrest."
2	The decision by the executive, Steven V. Stenger, had been widely expected after nights of limited protests and no arrests, and it mostly affected the scores of law enforcement officials who had been assigned to police demonstrations in Ferguson.
3	Mr. Stenger's declaration of emergency, issued on Monday, had placed Jon Belmar, St. Louis County's police chief, in charge of emergency operations in the city of about 21,000 people.
4	"After reviewing the events of the past four evenings under the state of emergency, I am pleased to report our law enforcement officers have established order while preventing further acts of violence in Ferguson," Mr. Stenger said in a statement.
5	"Local law enforcement will remain vigilant, and officers are prepared to respond swiftly if necessary."
6	Ferguson's mayor, James Knowles III, had suggested on Tuesday that county officials be judicious about lifting the emergency declaration, after Mr. Stenger initially said it could be lifted as early as Wednesday.
7	Mr. Stenger's decision, announced Friday morning, was among the signals that fear of widespread unrest had lessened significantly since Sunday night, when several gunshots were fired along West Florissant Avenue.
8	An 18-year-old man, Tyrone Harris Jr., was wounded by plainclothes county police detectives who said he had opened fire at them.
9	The shooting and a subsequent video of Mr. Harris - prone, handcuffed and wearing a bloodied shirt - on social media provoked new concern about turmoil in Ferguson, the scene of occasionally violent protests and National Guard deployments after the Aug. 9, 2014, death of Michael Brown.
10	Mr. Brown, a black teenager, was killed by Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson police officer, and looting, arson and intermittent gunfire followed a St. Louis County grand jury's decision in November not to charge Mr. Wilson with a crime.
11	But Mr. Harris's shooting seemed to stir less outrage on Ferguson's streets.
12	Although 22 people were arrested Monday night, confrontations between protesters and the police were fleeting.
13	On Tuesday night, officers and demonstrators generally kept their distance from each other, and there were no arrests or reported injuries.
14	The police also reported no arrests Wednesday and Thursday nights.
15	Indeed, many people who stood Tuesday night among longtime Ferguson protesters simply milled about in a parking lot.
16	Demonstrators blocked traffic on West Florissant once - Chief Belmar was among the officers who moved into the roadway to clear the protesters - and sometimes revived the chants that were so common here last year.
17	"The people, united, will never be defeated!" one familiar refrain went on Tuesday night.
18	As the protesters marched by on the sidewalk, a handful of police officers stood back and watched.