:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37112838/453681826.0.0.jpg)
Police in Ferguson, Missouri, have used military-grade equipment, including armored trucks, rifles, sound cannons, and tear gas, in its crackdown against protests for Michael Brown. Sometimes the police act in response to reports of thrown objects, Molotov cocktails, looting, and gunshots. Other times protesters and media have complained that harsh police tactics led to more violence by excessively cracking down on crowds that were demonstrating peacefully. These photographs provide a glimpse of what that crackdown looks like, and why, exactly, so many reporters have compared the situation in Ferguson to a war zone.
A police officer on August 16 watches over protesters in Ferguson on top of an armored truck. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
An armored truck carries police to the protest sight in Ferguson on August 18. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A police officer on August 15 stands guard in Ferguson while holding a rifle. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
Armored trucks arrive at the scene of the August 15 protests in Ferguson. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A police officer reacts to demonstrators in Ferguson on August 15. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
Police prepare advance on protesters in Ferguson on August 17. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
Police equipped with gas masks advance toward protesters in Ferguson on August 17. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
Police move in formation toward protesters in Ferguson on August 17. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A group of police officers moves to disperse August 17 protests in Ferguson. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A demonstrator on August 15 walks through smoke deployed by police to disperse crowds in Ferguson. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A participant in the August 17 protests in Ferguson holds her hands up as tear gas grenades fall around her. "Hands up, don’t shoot" has become the unofficial motto of the protests. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A protester on August 17 in Ferguson holds her hands up in defiance as tear gas and flames surround her. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A demonstrator throws a tear gas grenade back at police in Ferguson on August 17. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A woman is treated for tear gas burns in Ferguson after the protests on August 17. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)
A cleared street in Ferguson after protests that lasted until very early August 18. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
