Color of Change & Hayley Miller, Ryan J. Reilly / The Huffington Post – 2017-09-20 00:40:33
https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/st-louis-protect-protesters/
ACTION ALERT: “Whose Streets? Our Streets!”
St Louis Police Are Out of Control
Color of Change
Police are out of control in St. Louis, and the Mayor has done nothing to stop them. Over the weekend of protests following the not-guilty verdict absolving Jason Stockley of accountability in the killing of Anthony Lamar Smith, police have taunted protesters saying Ferguson-era chants like “Whose streets? Our streets?” (1) — in the same manner of neo-nazi terrorists in Charlottesville (2) — and police even trampled over an older woman and pepper-sprayed the people who tried to help her. (3)
Mayor Lyda Krewson still has not condemned the rampant excessive force police are using to suppress the peaceful protesters she claims to support. After the verdict came down, Krewson was quick to express her disappointment and also made a statement in support of the peaceful protest. (4) And today she said internal affairs division of the St. Louis police would investigate misconduct.
But we know we can’t rely on the police to investigate themselves. We need Krewson to take REAL action to protect protesters. That’s why we’re calling on her to widely condemn any use of excessive force against protesters and call an independent commission to investigate the actions of police during this time. She won’t have a choice if enough of us join together in making the demand. Will you sign the petition?
This weekend’s events are history repeating itself again and again since the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement. When Black people gather to demand an end to state violence, the state doubles down on the violence people were there to protest in the first place. We saw the St. Louis Police Department’s militarized response to protest in Ferguson in 2014, and we’re seeing it again today.
St. Louis police department has one of the highest rates of police-involved killings. (5) And instead of encouraging peaceful protest, St, Louis police invoked fear and provoked the confrontation. Using tear gas and riot gear, the police in St. Louis have arrested over 100 people since Friday that the police chief called “criminals.” (6)
In fact, the St. Louis Police Department has been overstating the supposed crime and vandalism to excuse their overly aggressive actions against mostly peaceful protests. Just yesterday, the police department tweeted a picture of a spray bottle filled with apple cider vinegar — a remedy protesters use to alleviate the symptoms of tear gas — and called it a “chemical agent” they confiscated from people trying to use it “against police officers.” (7)
The truth is that St. Louis police agitated protesters, and none of their actions were centered in de-escalation. They came dressed for a riot. And it’s what they got. Taunting at protesters is not how police officers should be engaging during this time.
It’s unacceptable. Mayor Krewson has said she wants to come together as a united St. Louis — and that means speaking out against behavior that seeks to divide us and push back against the change our communities need. Protest is a right that should be protected. And the actions of St. Louis police need to be investigated by an independent commission immediately.
ACTION: Sign the petition.
Tell the St. Louis Mayor:
Take a stand against police violence.
Protect the right to protest in your city.
Until justice is real,
Arisha, Rashad, Scott, Clarise, Anay, Malaya, Enchanta, Katrese, and the Color Of Change team
References:
1. “St. Louis officers chant ‘whose streets, our streets’ while arresting protesters,” Washington Post, 09-18-2017
2. “A new generation of white supremacists emerges,” Louisiana Weekly, 08-21-17
3. “St. Louis cops trample, arrest woman at protest,” New York Post, 09-16-2017
4. “Mayor Krewson’s statement on verdict,” Twitter @LydaKrewson, 09-15-2017
5. “Letter to Mayor Krewson re: Police Conduct at Sunday Night Protest,” ACLU of Missouri, 09-18-2017
6. “St. Louis protests continue, police arrest more than 100 people and vow: ‘This is our city,'” Washington Post, 09-18-2017
7. “St. Louis Police Claim an ‘Unknown Chemical’ Labeled ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ Maliciously Used Against Them,” The Root, 09-19-2017
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change.
St. Louis Police Chant ‘Whose Streets?
Our Streets!’ After Arresting Protesters
Hayley Miller, Ryan J. Reilly / The Huffington Post
(September 19, 2017) — A refrain commonly chanted by Black Lives Matter activists was shouted Sunday night by St. Louis police officers as law enforcement officials arrested more than 80 people during the city’s third night of unrest.
“Whose streets? Our streets!” the cops yelled after clearing a street of protesters and spectators, according to The Associated Press.
The phrase was chanted twice, reported David Carson, a photographer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He later tweeted that a police official claimed he hadn’t heard the chant but said he would “deal with it.” Carson also tweeted a video that he said captured police chanting the refrain.
Schron Y. Jackson, public information manager for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said the department is reviewing footage of “the video circulating on social media,” though she didn’t specify which video.
“We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and any officer not meeting those standards will be held accountable,” Jackson told HuffPost in an email Monday.
The Ethical Society of Police, which primarily represents black St. Louis police officers, said such actions go against the oath officers take.
“We as officers took a sworn oath to uphold the mission, purpose, and goals of our Department toward our community, whether we encounter them in the street or in their homes,” President Heather Taylor told HuffPost in a statement.
“We must abide by that oath under all circumstances. Our Code of Ethics states, ‘I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, political beliefs, aspirations, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions.’ That chant goes against the very code of ethics we swore to abide by. Whether we agree with demonstrations, protests, or acts of violence, it is our job to do our job free of personal bias.”
Sunday marked the third night in a row that violence broke out in the city following peaceful daytime demonstrations protesting the acquittal of former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley, 36, of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith, 24.
More than 1,000 people showed up to nonviolently protest police brutality, but by nightfall some people in the crowd had begun smashing storefront windows and vandalizing property. Police used pepper spray to disperse protesters and arrested those who did not follow their orders.
At least five weapons were confiscated from those arrested and some officers suffered “minor” or “moderate” injuries during the clashes, acting Police Commissioner Lawrence O’Toole said during a news conference early Monday.
O’Toole, who didn’t comment on the chanting, praised his officers for their “outstanding work” on Sunday night and proclaimed the “police owned the night.”
“I’m proud to tell you the city of St. Louis is safe,” O’Toole said during a news conference early Monday. “Once again, a group of criminals set out to break windows and destroy property. Tonight, those criminals are in jail.”
Michelle Higgins, co-chair of the St. Louis Action Council, said she was “unsurprised” by the officers’ attempt to “mock” protesters by chanting their own refrain back at them.
“It’s just a part of what seems like a cunning scheme to paint activists and protesters as the enemy,” Higgins told HuffPost. “[O’Toole] has been very clear in prioritizing the possessions of city officials and the property of St. Louis over people.”
As protesters gathered again Monday morning for a silent, nonviolent march through the city, Missouri state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. (D) responded to the reports of police chanting the previous night by describing a “new narrative.”
“We are the system,” Franks Jr. told a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We make up the system. We will affect your peace. We will make you uncomfortable. Peace is not an option — nonviolence is.”
Jeffrey A. Mittman, the executive director of the ACLU of Missouri said in a statement that the weekend’s protests had been mostly peaceful and nonviolent, but the police department had continued to “engage in unacceptable, unlawful and unconstitutional behavior.” The organization is exploring legal options and encouraged people to ask themselves why the protests were happening.
“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. 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,” he said.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
