Protesters rally for third day
Several hundred march in St. Louis over officer’s acquittal
ST. LOUIS—Several hundred protesters marched in downtown St. Louis near the city’s police headquarters Sunday evening and later through the St. Louis University campus, continuing demonstrations over the acquittal of a white former police officer charged in the shooting death of a black man.
Heading into a third night of protests, organizers said they were frustrated that a few people who have caused trouble at night could make it harder to spread their nonviolent message.
Sunday’s crowd began protesting silently in the late afternoon in front of the police department building, then chanted “stop killing us” as officers looked on from headquarters windows.
Afterward, they resumed largescale marching through streets, similar to what they’d done in previous days, chanting slogans such as “this is what democracy looks like.”
As nightfall came, most of the protesters had left, with about 100 remaining near the police station chanting “the whole d--- system is guilty as hell.”
Protesters object to the notguilty verdict released Friday for Jason Stockley, who had been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011.
Authorities closed off several blocks around the police headquarters Sunday afternoon in anticipation of the demonstration, which followed two days of nonviolent marches that devolved after sunset when small groups turned violent on Friday and Saturday nights.
Protesters and organizers say the violence and vandalism by a few threatens to detract from broader messages of racial equity.
“It’s counterproductive,” said Democratic Rep. Michael Butler, who added that people he described as “agitators” are not part of protest leadership.
Kayla Reed, an organizer and activist with the St. Louis Action Council, said actions of those few people have unfairly been used to “demonize” nonviolent protesters. She said not everyone who shows up at protests share the same goals as organizers or the majority of protesters.
“At any point, an individual can shift the entire moment that’s planned and organized,” Reed said.
Protest organizer Anthony Bell during demonstrations Sunday said change is made through peaceful protests, such as those led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But Bell said he understands the anger that sometimes leads to violence and property damage.
“I do not say the demonstrators are wrong, but I believe peaceful demonstrations are the best,” he said.