The protests were often tense, as heavily armed police with rifles, body armor, and gas masks squared off against a large crowd of demonstrators chanting and marching. Some, as St. Louis Post-Dispatch's David Carson observed, threw rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails.

On Wednesday, police officers attempted to break up the protests by firing rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd. At one point, they arrested two journalists for no apparent reason. By all accounts, the situation looked like it would only get worse.

Then the management changed, and boy what a difference a day makes.