Ferguson news: Police and community members get into scuffle over civilian oversight committee

ST. LOUIS – Concerned black citizens of St. Louis and surrounding suburbs like Ferguson, Mo. came to a scuffle with police Wednesday night while discussing police policy changes in the wake of unarmed teen Michael Brown's death. Brown was shot and killed in August by Officer Darren Wilson, who was not indicted for the incident.

The meeting was held at St. Louis City Hall by the Public Safety Committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. Around 70 mostly minority community members and some white police officers were debating for and against a civilian review board that would provide oversight for police.

Some grew upset when officers made comments opposed to the review board, and officer Jeff Roorda, who was wearing an "I am Darren Wilson" wristband, allegedly antagonized some in the crowd, according to the reports.

"It seemed he was intentionally trying to provoke people," Rasheen Aldridge, a member of a citizen's commission that addresses racial tensions in Ferguson, told Reuters.

Roorda, the business manager of the St. Louis Police Officer's Association, then appeared to get into a shoving match with a woman. Roorda was instrumental in raising thousands of dollars for Wilson in wake of the controversy.

"Roorda was charging toward the front and a young lady who was trying to exit was caught in his way," said St. Louis Alderman Chris Carter, who was helping oversee the meeting. "That is when it went all downhill."

Roorda has denied that he shoved the woman, but offered no other comment.

St. Louis police are now investigating the incident, though no arrests or injuries were reported.

"A police report with multiple complainants has been filed relative to the incident," spokeswoman Schron Y. Jackson told CNN Thursday. "There is an ongoing investigation to determine what occurred."

Brown's death has been a sore spot for predominantly African-American communities like Ferguson and a source of racial tension with the mostly white police force. The death of Brown, alongside others like Eric Garner and Akai Gurley, is one of many examples cited by protesters in several U.S. cities who say there is widespread mistreatment of minorities by police.

Protesters have been calling for reforms in both the leadership and the practices of police in the St. Louis area.