Riot police were rushed to the streets of downtown St. Louis amid reports of “significant” property damage last night, the third night of violent protests after a white police officer was acquitted in the shooting death of a black man.
St. Louis Riot police arrested dozens Sunday night following the latest round of clashes with demonstrators protesting the acquittal of a white police officer in the shooting death of a black man.
At least 80 arrests were made in what was the third night of violence in the city, with hundreds of people protesting Friday’s court decision that found Jason Stockley, a 36-year-old cop, not guilty in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith.
The verdict has enraged some of the city’s residents, prompting daily protests that at times turned violent. Both Friday and Saturday, the protesters got agitated and confronted the police officers. Thirty were arrested on Saturday night. On Sunday, hundreds marched through the downtown streets of St. Louis. Despite the march remaining peaceful in the early hours amid the deployment of massive police forces, the protest turned violent by nightfall after roughly 100 protesters became confrontational while marching towards the center of downtown.