St. Louis police arrested 22 demonstrators during a protest over the acquittal of former St. Louis cop Jason Stockley, who was captured on video planting a gun on unarmed driver Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011 after fatally shooting him five times with his personal AK-47, as we reported about in September 2016.
Former cop Jason Stockley, 36, stood trial last month for the premeditated murder of Anthony Lamar Smith, 24, in a Dec. 20, 2011 fatal shooting in St. Louis, Missouri.
Stockley was acquitted by Judge Timothy J. Wilson, who faces a mandatory retirement when he turns 70-years-old in December, after he waived his right to a jury and proceeded with a bench trial instead.
Judge Timothy J. WIlson was known for, among other things,asking defendant inmates about the quality of food they’d eaten at the jail.
“No justice, no profit!” protesters shouted throughout the St. Louis Galleria on Saturday, which has been a common a phrase in and around malls and shopping centers in the city after the acquittal last week.
Around 200 demonstrators gathered near the Cheesecake Factory then marched inside the mall at around 11 a.m. until noon before police began ordering them to disperse from the area.
According to police, management at the mall requested the demonstrators be removed after they began blocking shoppers’ access to escalators.
Richmond Heights police then requested assistance from the St. Louis County Police Department.
After Richmond Height police gave orders for the protesters to disperse, most followed the orders.
Some disobeyed and were arrested on charges ranging from trespassing, resisting arrest, rioting and assault on a law enforcement officer.
One St. Louis County officer was taken to the hospital for an alleged back injury while two protesters suffered minor scrapes, according to Fox2Now.
The St. Louis County Police Department Tweeted a message giving orders to disperse online.
“Dispersal orders given loud and clear after destructive actions at the Galleria. Arrests appear to be imminent.”
It’s unclear exactly what property was destroyed, since most of the arrests were made near the escalators while people with cell phone cameras recorded.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a civil rights lawsuit on Friday over previous treatment of protesters.
Video of the arrests, along with the video of Stockley and his partner pursuing Anthony Lamar Smith before murdering him, can be seen below.
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