Police justify shooting of black teen

The mayor of the St. Louis suburb of Berkeley urged calm Wednesday after a white police officer killed black 18-year-old Antonio Martin who police said pointed a gun at him. Photo / AP

Officials have scrambled to head off renewed anger after an armed black teenager was shot dead by a white officer in a St Louis suburb, insisting the use of force was justified.

The killing happened on Wednesday at a petrol station in Berkeley, near Ferguson - ground zero of a protest movement over police killings of black men - and triggered immediate demonstrations.

A crowd of about 300 gathered at the service station where Antonio Martin was shot, throwing rocks and bricks.

United States-wide protests were sparked after unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by a white officer in Ferguson, a mainly African-American town with a mostly white police force.

After several weeks, demonstrations gained momentum in reaction to several other killings of black suspects, including that of Eric Garner, who died in a chokehold in New York last July.

Grand juries failed to commit officers in the Brown and Garner cases, sparking allegations the justice system is weighted against blacks.

But officials in Berkeley said the officer in Wednesday's shooting acted in self-defence.

"You couldn't even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York," Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said. "Everybody don't die the same ... at this point, our review indicates that the police did not initiate this."

He said St Louis County and local Berkeley police were conducting independent investigations.

St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said the 18-year-old suspect levelled a gun at an officer responding to a theft complaint, leaving him with no alternative but to shoot.

Belmar said two men approached the officer's car as it arrived at the service station. One pointed his 9mm pistol at the officer, who drew his own weapon and fired three shots.

"The individual produced a pistol with his arms straight out pointing at the officer across the hood of the police car. At that point, the police officer produced his service weapon and fired."

Police said Martin was known for assault and robbery charges. They are hunting the second man, who fled.

St Louis police said the officer, a 34-year-old white man with six years' experience on the force, was not wearing his body camera. The dashboard camera was also off.

-AFP