Angry crowds have been protesting for a second night in the US town of Ferguson against the decision not to prosecute the white police officer who shot dead an unarmed black teen.
But the deployment of hundreds more National Guard troops has prevented a repeat of Monday night's violence over the killing of Michael Brown.
A man is doused with milk and sprayed with mist after being hit with tear gas during demonstrations. Photo: REUTERS
Demonstrations from New York to Seattle were mostly peaceful, with protesters chanting and waving placards, but rioting broke out in Oakland, California, the BBC reports.
More than 2000 troops were sent to Ferguson after riots erupted on Monday following the grand jury's decision that Darren Wilson would not be charged over the 18-year-old's death on 9 August.
There was some unrest in Ferguson today, with police making 44 arrests, but the town did not see rioting on the scale of Monday night.
Darren Wilson has told his version of events, saying that he had to shoot Mr Brown before the teen got to him and he had a "clean conscience".
Mr Wilson has disputed eyewitness accounts that Mr Brown turned around and put his hands in the air.
He told the ABC that Mr Brown was a powerful man and when he had confronted him, the 18-year-old had hit him, sworn at him and refused to back off.
Mr Wilson said he asked himself whether he could legally shoot Mr Brown. "I answered myself 'I have to. If I don't, he will kill me if he gets to me'."
Lesley McSpadden stands before the casket of her son, Michael Brown. Photo: AFP
Initial encounter
Darren Wilson said he had initially encountered Mr Brown and a friend walking down a road and told them to move to the pavement, drawing an expletive from Mr Brown, the BBC reported.
Mr Wilson said he noticed Mr Brown had a handful of cigars. "And that's when it clicked" for him, he said, that the men were suspects in a theft at a convenience store reported minutes earlier.
He asked a dispatcher to send additional officers, then reversed his vehicle so that it was in front of Mr Brown and his friend.
As he tried to open the door, Mr Brown slammed it shut. Mr Wilson said he pushed Mr Brown with the door and Mr Brown hit him in the face.
He drew his gun and threatened to shoot if Mr Brown didn't move back, fearing another punch to the face could "knock me out or worse".
Mr Brown immediately grabbed Mr Wilson's gun and said: "You are too much of a pussy to shoot me."
The officer said he thought he was going to be shot when Mr Brown dug the gun into his hip, the BBC reported.
Mr Wilson said he managed to pull the trigger and the gun "clicked" twice without firing, before a shot went through the police car door.
Mr Wilson said Mr Brown stepped back and then looked at him with the "most intense, aggressive face".
"The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that's how angry he looked. He comes back towards me again with his hands up."
Mr Wilson said he covered his face and fired the gun again, firing two shots in the car before Mr Brown ran off and he followed him.
When Mr Brown stopped, Mr Wilson told him to get on the ground. He said he fired a series of shots when Mr Brown kept coming towards him and put his right hand under his shirt in the waistband of his trousers.
A journalist photographs a burnt-out store in Ferguson, Missouri, which was set ablaze following the grand jury decision. Photo: AFP
