Large protests erupted Friday in St. Louis after a former police officer was cleared in the fatal shooting of a black man, leading to more than a dozen arrests and a confrontation in which law enforcement fired tear gas at demonstrators.
The protests came in response to a judge finding Jason Stockley, who is white, not guilty of murder for fatally shooting Anthony Lamar Smith, a drug suspect, in 2011. Stockley was an officer with the St. Louis Police Department at the time, and was heard saying “we’re killing this motherfucker, don’t you know it” while involved in a high-speed chase with Smith.
In the hours after the verdict, large groups of protesters gathered in multiple locations around St. Louis. At a news conference Friday afternoon, acting St. Louis Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole said a total of 13 people were arrested and four officers were assaulted and received minor injuries. He described the protests as having “tense moments” but ultimately said they were mostly peaceful.
However, tensions rose higher after nightfall when a crowd gathered outside the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson — who earlier said she was “appalled at what happened to Anthony Lamar Smith.” Police tweeted that “agitators” were at the home and were “throwing rocks and breaking windows, despite being instructed not to.”
Images appeared to show exterior damage to the home.
Soon after the protesters gathered at the mayor’s home, police formed lines in the area and tweeted that “officers have given two commands that this is an unlawful assembly.”
Police then fired tear gas at the crowds.
Police also said an officer suffered a serious injury from a brick that was thrown at him and had to be transported to a hospital.
Earlier in the day, four other officers were assaulted, though O’Toole said they suffered only minor injuries and were not taken to the hospital.
Prior to the confrontation at the mayor’s home, images from the protests showed a number of confrontations between demonstrators and police. In one video, shared by the local Fox TV affiliate, a line of police officers appears to knock over an elderly woman, then step over her as she lies on the ground.
When asked about the video, police spokesperson Schron Jackson told BuzzFeed News the “demonstrators were ordered to leave the area.”
“The woman shown in the video refused to leave the street and area as officers were attempting to move them back,” Schron said in an email. Police did not say if the woman was ultimately arrested.
Othe images posted by protesters Friday showed police using pepper spray and batons while taking demonstrators into custody.
Another aerial video showed riot police charging into a crowd.
The St. Louis Police Department also posted a video showing “agitators damaging a police car.”
Other images from the scene showed businesses boarded up as people marched through the streets. In videos, protesters could be heard chanting “no justice, no peace, no racist police.”
After a lull in the early evening, large groups of protesters continued marching Friday night. Images showed large crowds moving through the streets of St. Louis, closing a highway in the area.
