Crowds protest shooting verdict in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS — More than a dozen people were arrested Friday as crowds of demonstrators in the St. Louis region marched into the night following the acquittal of a white former police officer who was charged with murder last year for fatally shooting a black driver after a car chase and then accused by prosecutors of planting a gun on the victim.
Prosecutors charged Jason Stockley, the former St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer, with murder for killing Anthony Lamar Smith in December 2011. According to the probable cause statement, Stockley was caught saying he was “going to kill this (expletive), don’t you know it” and was heard telling another officer to drive into Smith’s slowing car.
The court document, submitted by the St. Louis circuit attorney, said Stockley then approached Smith’s window and fired five times into the car, hitting Smith “with each shot” and killing him. In addition,
prosecutors say, there was a gun found in Smith’s car, but it was later determined to only have DNA from Stockley.
Judge Timothy Wilson, the circuit judge who heard the case in a bench trial, acquitted Stockley on the murder charge as well as a charge of armed criminal action in a 30-page order released Friday morning.
Wilson wrote that he was “simply not firmly convinced” of Stockley’s guilt, saying that “agonizingly,” he went over the case’s evidence repeatedly. Ultimately, Wilson said, he was not convinced that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Stockley “did not act in self-defense,” as the former officer had said.
Local and state officials said they were prepared for potential unrest to follow the acquittal, and some schools were shuttered around the St. Louis area and events set for the region were postponed as the verdict loomed.
St. Louis police said Friday evening that 13 people had been arrested and that four officers suffered injuries in the protests, though none went to the hospital.
Missouri’s Republican Gov. Eric Greitens on Thursday put the state’s National Guard on standby in advance of the verdict.
“We know this verdict causes pain for many people,” Greitens said Friday. “We have been in touch with city and county officials, and the state of Missouri will continue to assist them. I’m committed to protecting everyone’s constitutional right to protest peacefully, while also protecting people’s lives, homes, and communities. For anyone who protests, please do so peacefully.”
Greitens had said putting the National Guard on standby was “a necessary precaution.” Before the verdict was announced, Greitens stood with Christina Wilson, Smith’s fiancee, to deliver a joint message asking people to protest peacefully.
“If you feel like you want to speak out, speak how you feel,” Wilson said at the news briefing. “And whatever comes to you, just do it in a peaceful way.”
Neil Bruntrager, an attorney for Stockley, said the former officer felt “obvious relief ” at the result Friday.
In a telephone interview, Bruntrager said the judge’s detailed opinion explaining the verdict was his “best effort in that regard to make sure people understand why he did what he did.”
“That to me is invaluable,” Bruntrager continued. “Because if you read this, if you truly read this, you can’t come away with any other conclusion other than what he concluded.”
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said in a statement Friday that she is “appalled” by what happened to Smith.
“I am sobered by this outcome. Frustration, anger, hurt, pain, hope and love all intermingle,” she wrote. “I will continue my work to create a more equitable community.”
On Friday morning, Lawrence O’Toole, the St. Louis police chief, said that while the department knows “emotions are running high,” they also asked people to demonstrate peacefully.
In an off-the-record meeting with local media outlets on Thursday, O’Toole said local residents should consider the message of the protesters expected to gather.
“People have been asking me, ‘Is it safe to go here or there?’ and I tell them to continue to live their lives, just be aware of the larger issues the protesters are trying to call attention to. These issues have to be addressed.” O’Toole said, according to the St. Louis American, the city’s black newspaper. “They are trying to shine the light on the injustices they see and feel.”