Grab our stuff and go. Hurry up, lets go. Alleged misuse of force. A pair of journalists in ferguson say policeman handled and arrested them. Others were hit with tear gas while reporting making it clear in ferguson, a press pass is not a shield. And the pop culture lead. Surprising news from the wife of Robin Williams this afternoon. Pulling back the curtain even further on the troubles that plagued the comic genius revealing for the first time that will williams suffered from a crippling disease. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper from ferguson, missouri where any moment now we are expecting a News Conference from the democratic governor of missouri, jay dixon, as this city prepares for another potential night like this. [ gunfire ] police throwing stun grenades at demonstrate ares in the streets, firing rubber bullets, forcing the crowd to scramble for safety. Police claim they only responded with force after protesters threw malla tov cocktails and while there are images of malla tov cocktails in protesters hands, witnesses such as an alder man who was arrested last night say police instigated the violence. As the media descends upon the town of 21,000, there are now enough cameras and smartphones to capture every flinch made here. Yet, so much about the incident that sparked it all remains a mystery, such as the name of the officer who fatally shot unarmed 18yearold Michael Brown on saturday afternoon. Police keeping that quiet, including a lot of other details in the case citing the officers safety. The Police Version, Police Version is that brown walking to his grandmothers house in this neighborhood, got into an altercation with the officer in question and according to police reached for the officers gun, but a number of witnesses say that is not how it happened at all. And, of course, there is no video of it. While protesters and Police Clashed in the streets of ferguson last night, president obama was at a private party in Marthas Vineyard where the white house told us a good time was had by all. If the president waited still perhaps some optics that were trouble willing. Today, president obama came to the cameras to call for peace. There is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. Theres also no excuse for police to use Excessive Force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights. And here in the United States of america, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists just trying to do their jobs. Of course not. Going after journalists for exercising their First Amendment rights is a job for the Justice Department. President obama alluding to the arrests of two journalists in a mcdonalds just down the street from here is, Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery and ryan riley of the Huffington Post. Police told them they were trespassing in this mcdonalds. They say their only crime was conspiracy to commit journalist. Well talk to riley in a moment. The where i am, the site canfield green where Michael Brown was shot, is just down the street and to the left. You take a left on the next street, canfield. Its in this rather well manicured Government Housing project down the street. Right here, you have protesters who have been out there for hours. Hands up, dont shoot, getting people to honk. Behind me you can see this Convenience Store that was hurnt down by protesters on saturday night. Lets bring in cnn justice correspondent pamela brown with new information. Of course, here with me is cnn National Correspondent jason carroll. Hes been covering the story right here in ferguson since monday. Pam, i want to go to you. First. Because theres been this big mystery about the investigation into what happened with Michael Brown. Theres a witness whos been interviewed on cnn and elsewhere and yet, police had not talked to him before cnn and other channels got to him. Is there any news on the investigation and the witnesses . There is some news, jake. We have learned that federal investigators have interviewed with dorian johnson, the man who was with Michael Brown hop says he was with Michael Brown when the shooting occurred on saturday. So we have learned that theyve interviewed johnson. Of course, this is after what he told cnn in an interview, that you alluded to. Johnson had said initially that he was walking down the street with Michael Brown and that the cop came up. He said a white male Police Officer came up to them and yelled at them to get off to the sidewalk and then he later said as weve heard so many times that Michael Brown put his hands up and surrendered and the Police Officer shot. As we know, police are giving a different account that there was an altercation and brown tried to go for his gun. Dorian johnson is a key witness in this investigation, jake. Of course, it is critical in any investigation to get to the witnesses early on so that they dont hear other accounts and change their story. Of course, he isnt the only witness as we heard today in a statement that attorney general eric holder released that officials have been interviewing other eyewitnesss, as well. So that is key. That is the first step in this investigation. Its going to be a thorough, a slow, painstaking process, i can tell you that. Pamela brown, stay with us. Jason carroll has been here since monday. I want you to answer questions im getting from viewers on twitter. As somebody who has been here since monday and seen several nights of violence. A lot. Whats going on with how militarized the police are, how violent are the protests . Is this all this really necessary. First of all, when we were out here on monday, about 100 meters from where we are now, it was the same situation we saw out here last night that you saw in the video. There was a heavy Police Presence. There were in riot gear using tear gas and asking everyone to leave. Youve seen is the neighborhood. The people were saying this it is our neighborhood. Where are we supposed to go . This is my yard. Where am i supposed to go. As the police came down here, it was i think shocking for a lot of us here into the media to see such a heavy Police Presence so heavily armed. When you think about the history here whats been happening here for years, people here really feel as though theres been a history of police using Excessive Force. Imagine what happened when you have dom mon straighters coming out and they see the presence of Excessive Force. From many people on the ground, it made a bad situation even worse. We have seen pictures of protesters with mol lal tov cocktails. How many of the people protesting are using violence and how many are peaceful . You see both. Overwhelming majority of the people out here are peaceful demonstrators whether its out here in the day and those people honking in support as they go by or even at night. Some people coming by wanting to express their political point of view. However, in that crowd, we also saw people who were clearly there to cause trouble. Their face is covered. Carrying rocks. Things like that. So from the police point of view, how do you thenen differentiate between someone like you who perhaps is standing out there to peacefully show your support for what happened versus someone who is next it out whos going to throw a rock. Thats the challenge that police have here on ground. Pamela, back in washington, what are your sources telling you about whats next in terms of Law Enforcement in this area . Ive heard people say that st. Louis county police are no longer going to be out here. Shed some light on that for us. Well, at this stage, as far as the two the parallel investigations, what im hearing from sources familiar with both investigations, things are still the same. Both parallel investigations are continuing to move forward. Both from the county level and also from the federal level with main justice doj as well as the u. S. Attorneys office and the fbi and theyre really focused right now on getting those witness interviews as well as looking at autopsy results which, of course, is also a key part of the investigation as well as ballistics. Thats where things stand. Also today, jake, we learned that doj is deploying more resources not only to help with the investigation but also to help police there in ferguson top control the crowd, in fact, we learned that a doj has sent some officials from the department of Justice Programs at doj to help with Technical Assistance to help with some less extreme ways to control the crowd as eric holder said in his statement today, he said that hes deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message. Thats going to be the role of these additional officials there on the ground. We know that the town of ferguson has accepted this assistance. So hopefully, jake, we will see some changes as far as some of the violence with the protests that weve seen and also we learned that the robert moosy, the head of the Civil Rights Criminal Division just arrived there on the ground this morning in ferguson as well as his team. Theyre going to be helping with the investigation so doj is really stepping up efforts really on both ends with the investigation, with helping police in ferguson. We also know eric holder had a meeting with president obama earlier today to brief him on everything going on. Eric holder also spoke with the u. S. Attorney in st. Louis as well as the acting assistant attorney for civil rights. So he clearly is treating this as a top priority. Jake . Thanks, pamela. Before we go, be i want to ask you, because you were stuck here last night on this residential street. People just to give them the lay of the land, this is a residential neighborhood. You see this gas station and what was once you know Convenience Store. But this is a residential neighborhood. Were told right now that the governor of missouri, jay nixon is about to start his News Conference. Lets listen in. Good afternoon. First of all, i want to thank all of the local elected and appointed officials with us today as well as the Community Leaders of this region. We deeply appreciate the activities youve been under and also want to thank our great friends at the university of missouri, st. Louis. Chancellor george, always deeply involved in the community and willing to assist us in whatever way, shape, or form. I tank him for the excellent leadership he provides in this region. I want to thank everybody for joining us on a very busy day for the community. First let me go through what weve done today. Then youll hear from a couple folks here and well be glad to take questions. This morning i was briefed by state Public Officials on the events of yesterday evening and morning. I spoke this morning with president obama who conveyed his concerns about the situation and appreciation for our efforts to resolve it. Here in st. Louis, ive mate with faith and Civic Leaders and i took a moment to visit the scene this morning where earlier this week a young man not much younger than my own sons lost his life. Finally i deeply appreciate the opportunity to speak with and hear from members of the neighborhood that is directly affected by the events of the last six days. They told me they want a community that is happy and healthy and safe, streets free from intimidation and fear. They want peace, they want truth and they want to be treated with respect. Today my message to the people of ferguson is these voices have been heard. Over the past several days, weve been deeply troubled by this crisis. As the pain of last weekends tragedy has been compounded by nights of conflict and fear. Whats gone on is not what missouris about. Its not what the ferguson is about. This is a place where people work, go to school, raise their families and go to church. A missouri community. Lately its looked more like a war zone. Thats unacceptable. To change that course, were going to need to join hands to rebuild the trust lost and mend whats broken and help the community regain confidence and stability, literally the eyes of the nation are on us. In order for that important process of healing and reconciliation to begin, we need to address immediate challenges. Im announcing that the missouri m Highway Patrol under the supervision of captain ron johnson will be directing the team that provides security in ferguson. Now what im announcing today does not affect the responsibilities of those involved in the investigation. I would once again like to thank general holder for agreeing to my request that the Justice Department conduct a parallel investigation. I want to thank all local Law Enforcement officials working so very hard on the investigation here at the local level. While that investigation continues, the immediate security responsibilities will now be directed by Missouri StateHighway Patrol who have proven themselves time and again. I want to thank the hard working members of the local and Regional Police department who have and will continue to work with the Highway Patrol as the troopers take the lead. I want to specifically thank those officers working double shifts who have been out there on the cutting edge working putting themselves out there. I appreciate the work that theyve done. Today is a day though that our words and deeds will set a better cornerstone on which to build our shared future because i believe and i know that ferguson will not be defined as a community torn apart by violence but a community that pulled together to overcome it. Today is a day we renew our commitment to the bring peace to the families of ferguson, and commit to our mutual responsibilities of ensuring the safety and security of our communities and making sure theyre served with justice and respect by leaders. The day we embrace our shared obligation as citizens to express our grief in i an peaceful manner and voice our expectations for fairness and justice. Friends, we must pledge again to build up this community and direct it and ourselves toward the better angels of our nature. Well now hear from a couple other folks. Ill be glad to take questions. The first of those i want to introduce for you to make a few comments, captain ron johnson of the Missouri StateHighway Patrol. Captain johnson. I appreciate the significance of this responsibility and the fact that this community and state and the nation are looking for Law Enforcement leadership that protects and serves our citizens. I grew up here and this is currently my community and my home. And therefore, it means a lot to me personally that we break the cycle of violence, and build trust. Showing the utmost respect for every interaction with every citizen. Moving forward im confident that the patrol and Police Resources present here in ferguson been do just that. They understand as i do how important it is that ferguson has confidence in Law Enforcement, would with us and understands that we are here to serve them. I understand that the anger and fear that the citizens of ferguson are feeling. And our Police Officers will respect both of those. Thank you. Chief executive of this region, and i appreciate their cooperation and support and the professionalism they and their teams bring to a myriad of opportunities each and every day. Let me first ask the county executive of st. Louis county, charlie dooley. If you would. Good afternoon to all of you. I come to you this afternoon with a very heavy heart. What we have seen these past few days in st. Louis county has been a tragedy. For the Michael Brown family, it has been a tragedy. They have lost a son. In st. Louis county, the world is looking at us and how do we treat our own. Is this freedom of assembly . Of course, there is. We support freedom of assembly. But what we do not support is disobedience for the law abiding people in st. Louis county. I have been saddened by what i have even these past few days, individuals come to this community not for the right purpose. Im for justice. I am not for revenge. Im for doing whats right and making it right. We have a large job ahead of us. Bringing this community together. It is not going to be a simple thing. There are too many questions that has not been answered that need explanations. People need to know, have closure to what is going on around them. Are they going to be protected in their homes or are they going to feel safe in their communities, but even more importantly, as we move forward, can the community and our Law Enforcement come together to work as a unit . Neither one can get there by themselves. We need each of them to parti