St. Louis protesters stand by those still in jail
Police had a hand in violence, some say
ST. LOUIS — Protesters chanting “free our people” gathered outside the jail in downtown St. Louis Monday night to show solidarity with those who remain behind bars.
“That was the main purpose of the night. To be in solidarity,” said Cheyenne Green, 24, of St. Louis, who helped organize Monday evening’s event and others since Friday’s verdict.
Police said more than 120 people were arrested during Sunday’s protests over the acquittal of a white former police officer in the killing of a black suspect. Demonstrators outside the jail criticized authorities for keeping some of those arrested in jail nearly 24 hours.
Some of those jailed were released Monday evening before organizers told people to go home. Organizers said protests will resume Tuesday, but gave no details.
Monday was the fourth day of protests, with a racially mixed crowd of demonstrators marching through downtown.
The latest action follows three days of peaceful protests, and three nights of vandalism and unrest in the city since Friday, when a judge announced he found Jason Stockley not guilty in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith.
Smith’s mother, Anne Smith, was among those gathered outside the downtown jail on Monday.
“I’m proud to tell you the city of St. Louis is safe and the police owned tonight,” Interim Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole said at a news conference early Monday.
But Sean Porter, 25, of St. Louis, was among those arrested at the intersection and one of several who said Monday that they could not follow orders to disperse because police had them blocked in.
“They threw us on the ground, sprayed us, hit us, everything. It’s tragic,” said Porter, who was released from jail Monday evening. .
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that reporter Mike Faulk, who was on the street reporting about the protests, had an experience similar to the one Porter described.
Police blocked the intersection. Faulk heard the police command to move back, but had nowhere to go, the newspaper said. Officers knocked Faulk down, he told the Post-Dispatch, and pinned his limbs to the ground. A foot pushed his head into the pavement and he was hit with pepper spray after he was subdued, he said.