Protests broke out in Ferguson after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed while walking down a residential street in the Missouri town in the afternoon. The officer who shot him has been identified as Darren Wilson, 28.

Accounts of Brown's slaying differ sharply. According to police, Wilson reported that Brown reached into the policeman's cruiser when Wilson approached him on the street, then grabbed for the officer's gun.

A companion of Brown said the teenager was initially shot after the officer tried to grab him through the car window and again after Brown staggered back with his hands in the air.

An independent autopsy arranged by Brown's family found he had been shot six times, including twice in the head.

Many protesters have demonstrated against his death with their arms in the air, chanting “hands up, don’t shoot”.