From WNYC in New York, this is On the media.

I'm Bob Garfield.

And I'm Brooke Gladstone.

After a week of escalating violence, the scene in Ferguson, Missouri on Thursday night was one of relative calm as protesters

marched with police officers down the streets of the St. Louis suburb. Here's Captain Ronald Johnson

of the Missouri Highway Patrol, now Ferguson Police Commander. And if that was my son or that was my friend, how would I feel or what my emotions would be?

And whatever my voice was, I want to have the right to say what that voice is.

And that's what we're going to do here today and every day forward.

The tone stood in stark contrast to the days and nights of confrontation between demonstrators,

mostly peaceful but angry, and police, often in riot gear, often seen holding military rifles

on armored vehicles or firing off tear gas.

The cause of the conflict was the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael

Brown, by a police officer on August 9th.

Since then, Ferguson has been headline news, documented minute by minute via tweets, vines, and live streams.

You may no longer be in the area. It is no longer a peaceful protest. They are firing rubber bullets

and smoke grenades. They're arresting. Tremaine Lee, national reporter for MSNBC, has been

reporting from Ferguson since Monday, August 11th.

We spoke to him earlier this week and asked him about the view from what's being called

Ferguson.

Wednesday night was the worst night so far.

Police officers hurled canisters of tear gas into the crowd.

They also launched flash grenades, bang grenades. It was the

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