Friday September 15 2017, former St. Louis policeman, Jason Stockley, was acquitted in the death of an African American man who was fatally shot in a chase. Peaceful protests formed quickly after the verdict was delivered. Soon, Riots broke out all over downtown St. Louis out of frustration with the city’s justice system.
During the incident, Stockley was caught on dash-cam giving explicit statements before shooting Anthony Smith five times. In court, Stockley requested to have his case decided by a judge rather than a jury. “This court, in conscience, cannot say that the State has proven every element of murder beyond a reasonable doubt or that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense,” Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson wrote in the documents.
Threats of civil unrest worried officials of St. Louis following the verdict. As they struggled to contain the citizens of St. Louis, the city police used tear gas and barricades to halt the protest route. The first protesters were very unsuccessful in their efforts to block the interstate. Later that evening, protests grew violent, resulting in damaged property and assaults. The people were riled with anger and vengeance after the justice system voted against the public. To subdue tension, Mayor Crewson released a statement Friday: “I am sobered by this outcome… I will continue my work to create a more equitable community.”
This is not just an issue for St. Louis; racial injustices are occurring across the country. The fear associated with police brutality and favor toward certain races affects our nation’s faith in the justice system. Even in light of PV being awarded “Spirit of Inclusion Award”, we continue to need improvement inside our school district on handling these issues. Principal Mike Zimmer made such comments during his acceptance speech for the award, regarding the prohibited behaviors and the understanding students need to have towards all classmates. “PVHS will no longer tolerate classmates who are different from ourselves, we will respect them as the precious and valued human beings they are. While we will not always agree or understand others viewpoints, we will respect them regardless of different ability, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, financial status or appearance.” PV continues to prohibit these actions, calling upon students to be watchful and combat racial injustices in our district.
Sara Wetzel • Oct 26, 2017 at 11:54 am
This article does a good job of taking this difficult topic and relate it to us here at PV. We don’t really see things like this around the QCA , and she made the topic relatable to our community .