A man yells at police in riot gear just before a crowd turned violent Saturday. Photo / AP
A man yells at police in riot gear just before a crowd turned violent Saturday. Photo / AP
St Louis has entered its third consecutive night of violence over Friday's acquittal of Jason Stockley, the white cop accused of murder in the 2011 shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith.
As occurred on Saturday, thousands of protesters had engaged in a peaceful protest over Stockley's Friday acquittal, this time gathering outside the Police Department HQ before walking through the city.
And just as on Saturday, that was followed up by a splinter group that began causing mayhem, smashing windows in downtown St Louis, with windows being smashed and police attacked, according to Daily Mail.
One man in a mask and body armor who was spotted waving an Anonymous flag was stopped by police and had a pistol, pepper spray and his protective gear confiscated.
Several St Louis County sheriff's deputies were sprayed with an unknown chemical and had to be decontaminated; others were pelted with rocks.
More than 80 people were arrested and five weapons confiscated, police said. The officers' injuries were minor to moderate, it was announced.
At around 7pm Pastor Doug Hollis, an organizer of the peaceful daytime event, announced: "We met our goal. We are dispersing. This was a great, peaceful protest. That's what we want."
Chaos took over St Louis streets for the third night in a row. Photo / AP
Tensions were raised after some declined to leave, and an unmarked police car reversed into a crowd at speed; nobody was hurt, but police said some protesters threw bottles afterward, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
"The crowd started moving in a threatening manner toward the Impala and because of road closures, the car could not go forward," police said in a statement.
"The officer driving the blue Impala backed down the street to safety."
By 8pm troublemakers had departed that group and headed downtown.
Windows were broken at several businesses, including the Marriott hotel on Washington Avenue, a sushi restaurant and a nail salon, and the intersection of Olive and 10th Streets was particularly badly hit.
A bike officer was injured around this time and taken to hospital in an ambulance; the nature of his injuries was not immediately apparent.
Strings of arrests were made on multiple occasions as police commanded crowds to disperse, and arrested those who refused to leave.
Just as on Saturday, the violence that occurred after dark on Sunday came after the close of a peaceful early evening protest.
That peaceful protest began with thousands of protesters converging outside St Louis Police Department's headquarters and staging a "die-in" which they laid across the ground, pretending to be dead.
Authorities had closed off several blocks around the police headquarters Sunday afternoon in anticipation of the demonstration, which included young children and teenagers, as well as adults.
The crowd also observed six minutes of silence in front of the police department building, then chanted "stop killing us" as officers looked on from the headquarters' windows.
Sunday's protest (pictured) was the third consecutive day of action after the verdict was delivered. Photo / AP
Afterward, they resumed the large-scale marching, chanting slogans such as "this is what democracy looks like."
Protesters said that the six-minute silence symbolised the six years between the Smith's death and Stockley's acquittal.
The five adults named by police as suspects in Saturday's riot were Caryn Pierson, Edward Stewart, Tristan Muir, Lakeshia Starks and Lamont Davis. Three of them live in St Louis; one in the surrounding county; and the fifth in Freeburg, Illinois.
Pierson was charged with first-degree property damage and rioting, and jailed on a $20,000 bond. Stewart was charged with unlawful assembly and resisting arrest and jailed on a $10,000 bond.
Muir was charged with rioting and fourth-degree assault; he was jailed on a $10,000 bond. Starks was charged with first-degree property damage, rioting, and resisting arrest and jailed on a $20,000 bond. And Davis was charged with first-degree property damage and jailed on a $20,000 bond.
Missouri Governor Eric Greitens issued a warning Sunday on Facebook that anyone caught destroying property would be held accountable and could face felony charges.
"Saturday night, some criminals decided to pick up rocks and break windows. They thought they'd get away with it. They were wrong. Our officers caught 'em, cuffed 'em, and threw 'em in jail," the first-term Republican governor wrote.
Ed Sheeran's Sunday concert at the Scott Trade Center was canceled on Saturday by Messina Touring Group on the venue's website.
"With the safety of the fans being of upmost concern, and after consulting with local officials, who could not fully commit to providing a sufficient amount of police and other city services support, we felt it was in everyone's best interest to cancel Sunday night's show," it read.
Early Sunday evening, protesters (pictured) gathered outside the St Louis Police Department headquarters, holding Black Lives Matter signs and American flags. Photo / AP
"While we regret to have had to come to this decision, we do look forward to returning to St Louis as soon as Ed's schedule will allow in 2018."
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which had canceled its Saturday and Sunday performances of the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets scores, went ahead with its performance on Sundauy.
However, the orchestra is giving refunds on its website to those who were unable to attend due to the protests.
It also promised refunds to those who had tickets to the canceled Friday and Saturday events.
Rock band U2 also canceled a performance due to protests, saying their Saturday gig could not go ahead as "local crowd security personnel would not be at full capacity," and that they "cannot in good conscience risk our fans' safety."
Ticketholders will be able to claim a refund online or at their place of purchase, they added.
Saturday's confrontation took place in an area that includes the Blueberry Hill club, where rock legend Chuck Berry played for many years.
There had been a peaceful march in the area earlier in the evening that ended with organizers calling for people to leave and reconvene Sunday afternoon.
Once outside the St Louis Police Department headquarters, many demonstrators participated in a 'die-in', lying on the ground to protest. Photo / AP
But a few dozen protesters refused to go. Police ordered them to disperse, saying the protest was illegal. Hundreds of officers in riot gear eventually moved in with armored vehicles.
The demonstrators retreated down a street, breaking windows with trash cans and throwing objects at police.
Several protesters were taken away in handcuffs, including a man who was carried off upside down. At least one demonstrator was treated after he was hit with pepper spray.
Sam Thomas, who was helping his friend clean up the glass from the shattered windows of his clothing and accessories boutique, OSO, said he understood why people were angry. The US justice system is broken and needs to be fixed, he said.
"I'm not saying this is the right way to fix it," he said of the damage. "The window isn't murdered. Nobody is going to have a funeral for the window. We can replace it."
Demonstrations began peacefully on Friday after Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson acquitted former St Louis police officer Stockley, 36, of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of Smith, 24.
Protesters later clashed with police, and 33 people were arrested and 10 officers injured by early Saturday morning. Police said protesters also damaged Mayor Lyda Krewson's home.
Police arrest a man as they try to clear a violent crowd. Photo / AP
Smith was shot in his car after Stockley and his partner chased him following an alleged drug deal, authorities said. Prosecutors argued that Stockley planted a weapon in Smith's car.
Stockley left the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department in 2013. Smith's family settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the city for $900,000 in 2013.
An informal group of St Louis-based activists known as the Ferguson frontline have organized the protests.
The group has focused on what it describes as institutional racism since rioting erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, a St Louis suburb, after a white police officer, Darren Wilson, shot black teenager Michael Brown in 2014.
A grand jury decided not to charge Wilson, and the US Justice Department declined to bring any charges of civil rights violations against him.
Brown's death triggered sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and around the United States, fueled by police killings of unarmed black men in other cities.
