St. Louis braces for protests after acquittal of police officer who shot and killed black motorist
On Friday, a judge acquitted former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley of murder charges concerning the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith, St. Louis' KMOX reports.
Stockley, who is white, shot Smith, a 24-year-old black man, after a high-speed chase stemming from what appeared to be a drug transaction in a parking lot. Dashcam footage captured Stockley saying "going to kill this [expletive], don't you know it" before Stockley and his partner rammed Smith's van and Stockley got out and shot five rounds into the car, killing Smith. Stockley's defense attorney argued Stockley fired in self defense after Smith refused to put his hands up and appeared to be reaching for an area where a gun was later found. Prosecutors say Stockley planted the gun, which was discovered to have his DNA on it but not Smith's, The Associated Press reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) activated the Missouri National Guard on Thursday, prior to the verdict, in anticipation of an acquittal, CNN reports. "As governor, I am committed to protecting everyone's constitutional right to protest peacefully while also protecting people's lives, homes, and communities," he said in a statement, calling the National Guard a "necessary precaution."
Likewise, protesters vowed to demonstrate if Stockley was acquitted. "The reaction is going to be something that the city, and St. Louis, doesn't want to see or want to have," one protester told KMOX. "There's going to be disruption everywhere. If we don't get justice, there will be no peace." Read more about the case at St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
-
The Olympic timekeepers keeping the Games on trackUnder the Radar Swiss watchmaking giant Omega has been at the finish line of every Olympic Games for nearly 100 years
-
Will increasing tensions with Iran boil over into war?Today’s Big Question President Donald Trump has recently been threatening the country
-
Corruption: The spy sheikh and the presidentFeature Trump is at the center of another scandal
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
