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From Yahoo News:
A man was gravely wounded in a gun battle with police in Ferguson, Missouri on Sunday night after a day of peaceful rallies to mark the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white officer one year ago. Several volleys of gunshots rang out as police in riot gear tried to disperse demonstrators blocking traffic and smashing storefront windows along a street that was a flashpoint of last year's unrest in the St. Louis suburb after Michael Brown, 18, was slain. Police later said the gunfire began with two groups of agitators apparently shooting at each other.
http://news.yahoo.com/ferguson-protests-mostly-peaceful-anniversary-brown-shooting-015555407.html
...
Anniversary commemorations had begun hours earlier with a peaceful march through the St. Louis suburb. The scene changed dramatically after dark. Dozens of protesters converged on West Florissant Avenue, which bore the brunt of last summer's rioting, and chanted: "Shut it down" in the midst of a severe thunderstorm.
(Score: 2) by albert on Tuesday August 11 2015, @05:03AM
The "friend" who loaned the gun to Tamir did evil. That might be a crime. Certainly there should be some civil liability for the death. This could apply to the friend's parents, as the friend was a minor AFAIK.
Tamir is said to have been mentally deficient. That, and the fact that he was a minor, means that his parents (or court-appointed guardians) have a duty to control him. This is both for his safety and for the safety of others. Clearly there was complete failure here. Since this is child abuse resulting in a death, it is most likely (depending on state law) equivalent to murder. Yep, it would be easy to convict the parents/guardians of a pretty severe crime.
Note that the pellet gun was easily capable of blinding somebody. With a great deal of luck it might have killed somebody via the jugular and/or eye socket. While not anywhere near as capable as a police pistol, the gun was certainly not an appropriate toy for a mentally deficient child.
Tamir himself was of course criminal, though we might lay the criminal responsibility on his parent/guardian due to age and mental deficiency. You do not get to repeatedly point a gun at random strangers in the park. It's unfortunate that Tamir was dumb enough to not immediately freeze when confronted by the police.
The police did a somewhat crappy job. There is a lot of room between "good job" and "criminal" though, and it wasn't unreasonable for the police to fear getting shot. They have families to go home too also; they didn't take the job in hopes of dying in the line of duty. It is reasonable to say that the police could have kept a bit more distance initially, but that might not have changed the ultimate outcome. Police training should also emphasize that telling somebody with a gun in their pocket to drop the gun is inviting them to reach for the gun.