Nearly two dozen protesters were arrested after marching through a St. Louis mall in protest of last week's acquittal of officer Jason Stockley, on Saturday, September 23.
Demonstrations resumed in the city for a second consecutive weekend, with calls for justice in the name of Anthony Lamar Smith, whom Stockley shot after a police chase in 2011. Between 150 and 200 people are estimated to have flooded the Galleria mall with signs and chants. When protesters refused to leave, upon the demands of Richmond Heights police, reinforcement was called in from the larger St. Louis County PD. The clashes that came about between demonstrators and police were documented and shared across social media throughout the remainder of the weekend. The recordings show an array of officers straddling, and in a few cases, dragging demonstrators.
The action was organized by Black Lives Matter and other groups that have been rallying locals to fight police brutality over the past several years. And a tightly organized action it was, with most of those who occupied the mall later heading out to stand outside of Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton in wait for the release of those who had been apprehended.
