Rams players should be PUNISHED for 'hands up' Ferguson protest, say St Louis cops: Police officers call on-field gesture 'offensive' as they demand an apology 

• Angry officers said NFL must discipline players for making the gesture
• Five team members raised their arms at a game today
• St Louis Police Association said they had 'ignored mountains of evidence'
• Said it was unbecoming of a hometown team - and pointed out that players and fans had all asked for protection from rioters in Ferguson, Missouri
• Gesture and response came amid wider protests nationwide

By Kieran Corcoran for MailOnline and David Mccormack for MailOnline and Associated Press

Published: 01:24 EST, 1 December 2014 | Updated: 02:06 EST, 1 December 2014

Furious St Louis cops have demanded that NFL players who made the 'hands up, don't shoot' gesture in solidarity with Ferguson protesters are punished by their superiors.

Officials from the St Louis County Police Association - the police union for the area including Ferguson - said that it was 'profoundly disappointed' in the five players who made the gesture.

Officers released an angry statement saying the players 'ignored mountains of evidence' vindicating Darren Wilson over the shooting of 18-year-old Micheal Brown, for which a grand jury recently declined to indict him.

Scroll down for the full statement

Solidarity: St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey (12), wide receiver Tavon Austin (11), tight end Jared Cook (89), wide receiver Chris Givens (13) and wide receiver Kenny Britt (81) put their hands up to show support for Michael Brown before Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders at the Edward Jones Dome

The statement, given to the KSDK TV station, described the gesture, which protesters have adopted across the nation, as: 'tasteless, offensive and inflammatory'.

It is a reference to witness accounts of the shooting, some of which claim Brown was raising his hands in surrender when he was shot 12 times by Wilson. The accounts have been disputed.

Attack: The police association, whose president Gabe Crocker is pictured above, said the gesture was 'unthinkable' from a hometown team

One member of the association was quoted saying: 'It is unthinkable that hometown athletes would so publicly perpetuate a narrative that has been disproven over-and-over again.'

The gesture was made by five members of the team: wide receiver Stedman Bailey, wide receiver Tavon Austin, tight end Jared Cook, wide receiver Chris Givens and wide receiver Kenny Britt.

The statement went on: 'All week long, the Rams and the NFL were on the phone with the St. Louis Police Department asking for assurances that the players and the fans would be kept safe from the violent protesters who had rioted, looted, and burned buildings in Ferguson.

'...As the players and their fans sit safely in their dome under the watchful protection of hundreds of St. Louis's finest, they take to the turf to call a now-exonerated officer a murderer, that is way out-of-bounds, to put it in football parlance.

The lengthy message concluded by saying: 'The SLPOA is calling for the players involved to be disciplined and for the Rams and the NFL to deliver a very public apology' and threatening to rally police in their condemnation of the team.

A Rams spokesman said on Sunday that the team was not aware the gesture had been planned before the game against the Oakland Raiders.

Symbolic: The gesture also made another appearance after the Rams' Tre Mason, left, scored a touchdown and was congratulated by Kenny Britt

Tensions still high: Police and Missouri National guard stand outside the Edward Jones Dome before the start of Sunday's game between the St. Louis Rams and the Oakland Raiders

Injustice? St. Louis Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) puts his hands up to show support for Michael Brown before a game against the Oakland Raiders

Flare-up: Police arrest a protester in St. Louis following an NFL football game between the St. Louis Rams and the Oakland Raiders on Sunday as protests continued following a grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson

Dragged away: The female protester is removed from the scene by police offers before the St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders played on Sunday

Detained and cuffed: Police arrest protest organizer Derrick Robinson as demonstrations against the failure to indict Officer Darren Wilson continued in St. Louis

Help: A clergy member assists a protester as he is arrested and left on the ground near to the St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders game on Sunday

Protests inside: Ferguson protesters also made their feelings known in a Walmart in St Louis County

What's in store: Protesters inside marched under the flags of Missouri and the United States as they were addressed at a gathering

Wide receivers Tavon Austin and Kenny Britt came out together first, with the move obscured by a smoke machine in the upper reaches of the stadium.

Stedman Bailey, Jared Cook and Chris Givens - all of whom are black - then came out and stood together with arms raised.

After Tre Mason scored on an 8-yard run to make it 45-0 in the fourth quarter, the gesture made another appearance when he and Britt raised their hands together.

There was disruption around the country from other Ferguson protests today as well, after a group of demonstrators blocked off the I-395 highway in Washington, D.C., Sunday afternoon.

A human chain blocked the road in both directions for about 40 minutes, according to the Washington Post.

Calls for justice continued to be made from the Missouri town itself today, as Rev. Al Sharpton gave a service at the Flood Christian Church, of which Brown's father, Michael Brown Snr, is a member.

Blockade: Protesters in Washington, D.C., held up traffic on the I-395 for around 40 minutes

Speech: Civil rights activist Sharpton spoke at a church in Ferguson today in support of the protests

Confrontation: Tensions were high between Rams and Raiders fans on Sunday before the game in St. Louis

Frustrations: Demonstrators protest outside the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis, Missouri on November 30, 2014

Taken away: One protester is arrested by St. Louis Police outside the stadium on Sunday before the game began

United: Demonstrators protest outside the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis, Missouri on November 30, 2014

Some cheer: Oakland Raider fans Joe and Trisha Morrow, (right), take a photo with members of the Natural Guard on Sunday

Grievances: Demonstrators marched through the streets of St. Louis that eventually led to clashes with police officers and fans of an American Football game between the St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders

Prepared: Police in riot gear respond to Michael Brown shooting protesters outside of the Edward Jones Dome during the NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams

Protest: St. Louis Rams wide receiver Kenny Britt (81) puts his hands up to show support for Michael Brown before a game against the Oakland Raiders at the Edward Jones Dome

Activism: Across the street from the stadium, about 75 protesters gathered in the second half as about 30 police wearing riot gear watched from a safe distance

There have been riots, looting and buildings burned in Ferguson since Monday’s grand jury verdict.

Across the street from the stadium, about 75 protesters gathered in the second half as about 30 police wearing riot gear watched from a safe distance.

Protesters chanted ‘Hands up, don't shoot!’ ‘No Justice, No Football!’ ‘This is what Democracy looks like,’ and ‘We're here for Mike Brown.’

The Rams had additional security measures in place for the game, including armed personnel from the National Guard. The team has wanded fans outside entrances all season.

Earlier in the week there had been reports that the game might be moved because of the protests.

In the end, the game remained in St. Louis giving the Rams the opportunity to show a sign of solidarity to the hometown crowd.

Michael Brown Sr. arrives for services at The Flood Christian Church on November 30, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown

Scouting: About 30 police wearing riot gear watched the protesters from a safe distance outside the Edward Jones Dome

Joining together: Outside the stadium protesters chanted ‘Hands up, don't shoot!’ ‘No Justice, No Football!’ ‘This is what Democracy looks like,’ and ‘We're here for Mike Brown’