A federal judge has placed restrictions on the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, saying their conduct during recent protests had violated demonstrators’ constitutional rights.
The protests took place in September, following a “not guilty” verdict in the murder trial of Jason Stockley, a white (and former) police officer who in 2011 shot and killed Anthony Lamar Smith, who was black.
Perry found sufficient evidence that police arbitrarily declared an assembly unlawful even when there was no violence, and that there was “no credible threat of force or violence to officers or property” when police rounded up citizens, including journalists, two months ago After those arrests, the head of the St. Louis MPD arrogantly declared that his department had “owned” the night, while his officers mocked protesters by chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!”
It turns out the protesters and free speech had the final word, however. Judge Perry said that officers had clearly retaliated against protected First Amendment speech because they didn’t like being criticized, and used chemical weapons to suppress speech they didn’t like.
Perry said police cannot declare an unlawful assembly unless there’s a clear and present threat, and cannot use the law to punish people engaged in protected activity. She also said chemical agents can’t be used unless there is probable cause to arrest a person, and that police can’t threaten to use chemical agents against anyone engaged in expressive, nonviolent activity.
American Civil Liberties Union attorney Anthony Rothert declared that “pepper spray is the new fire hose,” and said officers were using pepper spray “arbitrarily, gratuitously and without warning.”
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