Some of our guys have tried to buy 9mm today and cannot find it anywhere.

This is why you stock up and prepare.

People protesting the verdict in the murder trial of former police Officer Jason Stockley, found not guilty Friday of first-degree murder, blocked the on-ramp to Interstate 64 off Clark Street.

A group of protesters led by veteran activist Zaki Baruti started at Market Street, walked south on Tucker Boulevard, west on Clark Avenue, and tried to get up the on-ramp to westbound Interstate 64/Highway 40. But about 30 police officers with bikes blocked their access.

Many of the protesters started heading for the multi-modal transportation hub nearby.

“We have shut it down!” Baruti shouted through a megaphone. “This is the beginning.”

The protesters walked south on Tucker, then west on Clark Avenue and tried to enter Interstate 64/Highway 40 from the on-ramp at 14th Street, but were blocked by city police officers. By this time the number of protesters — and people using their phones to take video  — had swollen to 90.

Some protesters discussed moving on to shut down the multi-modal transportation hub nearby, but at least some protesters started marching to police headquarters at 1915 Olive Street.

Police did not come outside the locked building to address the group. Protesters called for police resignations and an economic boycott on St. Louis.

A protester leader known as Pastor Doug said through a megaphone, “They won’t get no rest until we get some justice,” he said. “We are shutting down every big event this weekend.”

One man on a bike was arrested at Washington Avenue and 14th Street.

ACLU of Missouri Statement on Acquittal of Jason Stockley

 

We extend our sympathies to Mr. Smith’s family and loved ones. This region—and our country as a whole—have seen too many deaths caused by police, with little accountability for the officers or department involved.

Michael Brown. Philando Castile. Terence Crutcher. Alton Sterling. Tamir Rice.

We must say their names and those of the many others killed by police in recent years. In 2016, Black males between 15 and 34 years old were nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by law enforcement officers.  It is past time for Missouri and the country to say in one voice: “This cannot continue.”

While many police officers act respectfully toward those they serve, we must acknowledge how regularly communities of color experience racial profiling and abuse from local law enforcement, including here in the St. Louis region.  This is a longstanding and tragic trend that began well before the killing of Michael Brown in 2014 and has continued since.

The ACLU stands with those who will continue to fight for racial justice.

We hope this verdict is a wake-up call that the community and the police must come together now to build trust and ensure justice.  Each and every community member must have an equal say in the way their neighborhood is policed.