The Ferguson police department has suspended a spokesman after he referred to the Michael Brown memorial in the city as a “pile of trash”.

A statement the city provided on Saturday to a local television station, KMOV-TV, did not identify the officer who made the remark. The Washington Post attributed the comment to Tim Zoll. Zoll could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

The memorial at the site of Brown’s death was damaged last week after a car apparently hit it. Brown died in August, after being shot by a white police officer. In November a grand jury decision not to indict the officer for killing the unarmed teenager led to rioting in the Missouri city and protests around the country.

The memorial, on Canfield Drive, is made up of flowers, soft toys, and cards. It was quickly rebuilt.

The city says the police spokesman denied making the comment to his supervisors, but later admitted he had misled his bosses. He has been placed on unpaid leave while “disciplinary proceedings” begin.

City officials said negative remarks about the memorial “do not reflect the feelings of the Ferguson police department”.

Also on Saturday, a 19-year-old man who was prominent in protests over the Michael Brown shooting, Joshua Williams, was charged with attempted arson in a neighbouring St Louis suburb.

On Tuesday, police in Berkeley shot dead an 18-year-old man, Antonio Martin, who they said pointed a gun at officers. Protests followed the shooting.