AG Holder goes to Missouri to visit St. Louis, Ferguson

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KABC) -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder arrived in St. Louis on Wednesday to meet with the parents of slain teen Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by a police officer on August 9. The town has been rocked with protests and police activity since the day of the shooting.

Holder met with Brown's parents in the U.S. attorney's office in downtown St. Louis.

Earlier Holder visited Ferguson. Holder has pledged experience federal officials will independently investigate whether there were any civil rights violations connected to Brown's death. Brown was black and the officer who shot him is white.

A grand jury began hearing evidence Wednesday in St. Louis in the fatal shooting of Brown, who was 18.

A police officer who confronted protesters on Tuesday night was suspended Wednesday for pointing a semiautomatic assault rifle at demonstrators, then cursing and threatening to kill one of them. The incident was caught on video.

St. Louis County police spokesman Brian Schellman said the officer is with the police department in St. Ann, another St. Louis County town near Ferguson. His name hasn't been released. Messages seeking comment from St. Ann's police chief were not returned.

Schellman said a county police sergeant took immediate action, telling the officer to lower the weapon and escorting him from the area. The officer was suspended indefinitely.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.