For second night, Ferguson fallout grows

The center of protests shifted somewhat away from Ferguson, Mo., on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning to marches in cities across the country.

A day after the grand jury decided not to charge officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) announced a significant increase in the National Guard presence in the state.

{mosads}Some of the 2,200 National Guard members, up from around 700 on Monday night when there was looting and arson, helped secure businesses. Police closed off one street that had been at the center of the unrest. 

Authorities in Ferguson used pepper spray and tear gas as protesters set a police cruiser ablaze and smashed windows at City Hall, but the town saw far less destruction than it did the previous night.

Elsewhere, demonstrations grew considerably.

In New York City, protesters marched through streets, snarling traffic. The New York Times reported that police officers in helmets pushed into a crowd, arresting demonstrators blocking the street in Times Square. 

A Times reporter tweeted a photo of a police car that had been surrounded by protesters on FDR Drive in New York City. 

In Los Angeles, marchers surrounded a police car, chanting “No justice, no peace.”

The Associated Press reported additional protests in Seattle, Minneapolis, Oakland and Cleveland. There was also a march in Washington, D.C.

Several hundred people marched down a freeway ramp, blocking traffic in Cleveland, according to the AP.