Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Protest in St. Louis
Acquittal protesters return to street peacefully in morning
The Rev. Dinah Tatman (center) takes part in a silent march Monday down Market Street to City Hall in St. Louis.
ST. LOUIS — A racially mixed crowd of demonstrators locked arms and marched quietly through downtown St. Louis on Monday morning to protest the acquittal of a white former police officer in the killing of a black suspect, after another night of unrest and more than 120 arrests.
Protesters chanting “free our people” gathered outside the jail in downtown St. Louis on Monday night to show solidarity with those who remained behind bars.
Police said that more than 120 people were arrested during Sunday’s protests. Demonstrators outside the jail criticized authorities for keeping some of those arrested in jail nearly 24 hours after they were taken into custody. One organizer said over a megaphone that the protesters were prepared to “occupy” the facility.
The latest actions follow three days of peaceful protests and three nights of vandalism and unrest in the city that has been rocked since Friday, when a judge announced he found Jason Stockley innocent in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith.
Smith’s mother, Anne Smith, was among those gathered outside the downtown jail on Monday.
Police used a technique called kettling on Sunday night to box in about 100 people at a busy downtown intersection and arrest them for failing to disperse.
It’s a tactic used to corral a group of people who fail to follow police orders. St. Louis police took the action after several windows were broken and concrete planters and trash cans overturned.
But some of those caught in the box made by rows of officers said police overstepped their bounds, using excessive force and chemical spray on people who were not protesting, including residents trying to get home and members of the media. As police closed in from all sides, they struck their batons in unison on the pavement, in a cadence march.
Tony Rice, an activist who goes by Search4Swag on Twitter, said he was shocked by the police behavior.
“It was the most brutal arrest I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Rice said. “I thought I was going to die.”
He said he could not lie prone on the ground, as ordered, because he had his bike with him.
Pedestrians were arrested along with legal observers, protesters, a freelance photographer and a doctor, he said.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk was caught in the kettle Sunday night. A line of bike cops formed across Washington Avenue, east of Tucker Boulevard and police in helmets carrying shields and batons blocked the other three sides of the intersection at Tucker and Washington. Faulk heard the repeated police command, “Move back. Move back.” He had nowhere to go.
The police lines moved forward, trapping dozens of people — protesters, journalists, area residents and observers alike. Multiple officers knocked Faulk down, he said, and pinned his limbs to the ground. A firm foot pushed his head into the pavement. Once he was subdued, he recalled, an officer squirted pepper spray in his face.
Police loaded Faulk into a van holding about eight arrestees and took him to the city jail. Faulk was charged with failure to disperse, a municipal charge.
Tony Rothert, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, said his office has been busy fielding complaints and been in contact with Mayor Lyda Krewson’s office as well as interim Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole regarding what Rothert called inappropriate police behavior.
“We’re exploring whether litigation will be necessary to bring police in line with the Constitution,” Rothert said.
On Sunday, more than 1,000 people had gathered at police headquarters and then marched without trouble through downtown St. Louis. By nightfall, most had gone home.
But the 100 or so people who remained grew increasingly agitated as they marched back toward downtown.
According to police, the demonstrators then sprayed bottles with an unknown substance on officers. One officer suffered a leg injury and was taken to a hospital. His condition wasn’t known.
Soon afterward, buses brought in additional officers in riot gear, and police scoured downtown deep into the night, making arrests and seizing at least five weapons, according to O’Toole. Later, officers in riot gear gathered alongside a city boulevard chanting “whose street, our street” — a common refrain used by the protesters — after clearing the street of demonstrators and onlookers.
“We’re in control. This is our city, and we’re going to protect it,” O’Toole said.