Protests sparked by Friday’s acquittal of Jason Stockley of first-degree murder in the 2011 on-duty shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith are ongoing, and on Sunday, there was a disturbing flashback to the fatal ramming of protesters in Charlottesville, Va. in August, in which a car ran into a group of marchers and then backed away at high speed.
Some initial reports had an unmarked police car in St. Louis also moving at high speed, but video shows different story.
Unmarked police vehicle backs down 20th Street, passes through protesters in St. Louis Sunday – More info: https://t.co/XEfI0pvytE pic.twitter.com/1zLsF3fLND
— FOX2now (@FOX2now) September 18, 2017
KTVI reports that “initial reports from the scene seemed to indicate that the car barreled through the crowd with considerable speed” and that soon after the incident, a protester tossed a bottle at police, injuring one officer.
Here's the video the car backing down the street. No one was hit. pic.twitter.com/v6n1xHqTwq
— Doyle Murphy (@DoyleMurphy) September 18, 2017
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department posted this footage to its YouTube account Sunday:
At around 7 p.m., officers pulled over a vehicle occupied by two wanted suspects on 20th at Locust. The driver was wanted for an Assault 1st and the passenger was wanted for Making a Terrorist Threat. Three firearms were recovered from the vehicle. While officers were making the arrest, a third suspect threw rocks at arresting officers. The third suspect was taken into custody and detained in the back of the blue Impala which is an unmarked police vehicle. The crowd started moving in a threatening manner towards the Impala and because of road closures, the car could not go forward. The officer driving the blue Impala backed down the street to safety. No injuries have been reported to the department at this time.
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No one was injured, but the parallels to Charlottesville are hard to miss, and the city is already a powder keg.
.@SLMPD We see you and we know what you're doing.
— Becci Himes (@GdCraic) September 18, 2017
Which is?
https://twitter.com/progteaparty/status/909753367798456320
https://twitter.com/iampigeon/status/909831677798682624
Y'all are the terrorists. What you did tonight will be shared throughout the world. It's all on video.
— oregon girl (@oregon_girl3) September 18, 2017
On your video, the officer is seen running two red lights without lights/sirens, speeding in reverse, and attempting to murder protesters.
— What (@write2wrong) September 18, 2017
So admittedly a police vehicle backed through a crowd of civilians. I hope complaints were filed. You put people in danger! https://t.co/z8KhmpQ9sq
— Annie Rice (@AnnieRiceStL) September 18, 2017
Police in STL pulling a "Charlottesville" tried to run down protesters last night https://t.co/X0zCKYVMTG
— ldoreable (@ldoreable) September 18, 2017
@LydaKrewson This is your undercover officer trying to run down protesters. Will have him prosecuted? @ChuckModi1 https://t.co/xDcdP4erzH
— Black Girl Justice (@dodi70) September 18, 2017
In other news, the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association and the St. Louis Police Wives Association are taking donations to purchase things like water, sports drinks, and snacks for officers working 12-hour shifts.
Thank you to all who have donated or are considering donating. We appreciate all the community support! #STLVerdict https://t.co/BbxDf79pww
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 18, 2017
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Related:
Protester in ‘F*** THE POLICE’ shirt open carries handgun in the dumbest way possible #JasonStockley https://t.co/hGv28NzPm4
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 15, 2017
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