BBC Online :
Thousands of people have held vigils across the US in honour of a black teenager killed by police in Missouri.
Moments of silence and protests were held in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and elsewhere, five days after Michael Brown, 18, was fatally shot.
After four nights of violence in Ferguson, Missouri, where he died, state police took charge of security.
In contrast on Thursday evening, state troopers and local police walked with protestors, shaking their hands.
Captain Ronald Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, an African-American who grew up nearby, was named as the new head of the operation.
As he walked at the front of a march through the streets, he was seen hugging people he met. “We all want justice. We all want answers,” he said.
The transformation over the past 24 hours here has been extraordinary. For days, there had been unrest and confrontation between a largely white police force and young, black protesters.
But the images of police in military gear and armoured vehicles out in Missouri shocked many Americans, led to criticism from officials, and clearly led to a change in tactics. Overnight the police presence was minimal. Black officers took the lead and were greeted with handshakes by people who poured onto the streets, now without fear of intimidation.
They stayed there well into the night, in something of a united, celebratory mood. They feel they have brought about a change in their community, and say they will no longer accept what they saw as police bullying and humiliation.
For the first time, the reverberations from this Midwest town were felt nationwide with dozens of vigils organised by a social media campaign.
The event in Washington DC was attended by hundreds of people in Malcolm X Park, many holding placards saying: “
