Mike Brown makeshift memorial
Ken Kendricks Jr., a nearby resident, puts his hands together in prayer at a makeshift memorial at the site where unarmed teen Michael Brown was shot dead in Ferguson, Missouri Aug. 22, 2014. Reuters/Adrees Latif

A makeshift memorial for Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, was crushed by police vehicles and a dog controlled by an officer urinated on the memorial site, hours after the black teen was shot dead by a white police officer, Mother Jones magazine reported, citing sources on Wednesday.

According to the report, which provides new insight into the tension between protesters and law enforcement officers following the unarmed teen’s death, police disrespected the sentiments of the demonstrators as they ran over flowers and candles that had been placed over the spot where Brown's body lay after he was shot. In the weeks following the incident, the St. Louis suburb saw massive demonstrations, marred by incidents of looting, vandalism and violence, which authorities tried to control with the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and by arresting protesters.

“An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the memorial site,” an eyewitness reportedly told the magazine. The identity of the officer who handled the dog and the law enforcement agency he belonged to remain unclear.

"They spelled out his initials with rose petals over the bloodstains," another eyewitness recalled, describing the makeshift memorial that the police drove over.

"That made people in the crowd mad," Missouri state Rep. Sharon Pace told Mother Jones.

According to the report, a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Police said that the department was unaware of such incidents and that the complaints should be submitted to the department's Bureau of Professional Standards.

St. Louis alderman Antonio French, who was at the site that night, posted a photo of a mangled memorial on his Twitter account.

The shooting death of Brown saw days of violence, looting, bottle-throwing and vandalism in Ferguson, and police resorted to arresting dozens of people, including journalists, to control the unrest, which ultimately led to the deployment of the National Guard.

RELATED STORIES