Getty Images on Monday confirmed the arrest of one of its photographers covering unrest in a Missouri town where a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black teenager.

In a caption with a photograph showing the arrest of Scott Olson, the agency said he was being "placed in a paddy wagon after being arrested by police as he covers the demonstration following the shooting death of Michael Brown."

Getty Images did not say why Olson was detained.

AFP is an image distribution partner of Getty.

The dispute has fueled resentment in Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis with a majority African American population but a mainly white police force -- now backed by a detachment of National Guard soldiers.

Earlier, President Barack Obama said Attorney General Eric Holder would travel to Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with FBI agents and Justice Department officials conducting a federal civil rights probe into the shooting that has revived the nation debate on race relations.