Third Night of Violent Protests: St. Louis County Police Officers Get Sprayed with Unknown Chemical

Several St. Louis County police officers had to be decontaminated by St. Louis Fire Dept. emergency responders on Sunday night after they were sprayed with an unknown chemical substance.

Thx @STLFireDept for decontaminating our officers that had more unknown chemicals thrown on them downtown. pic.twitter.com/9XJQeoBKO7

— St. Louis County PD (@stlcountypd) September 18, 2017

St. Louis County police confiscated some bottles of “unknown chemicals” that were used against the police. One of the bottles was marked apple cider, which experienced agitators apparently use to neutralize the effects of tear gas.

Officers confiscate bottles with unknown chemicals used to against police tonight in downtown #stl pic.twitter.com/PUaJagBzn2

— St. Louis County PD (@stlcountypd) September 18, 2017

Police also confiscated the extensive weapons cache in the tweet below from only one suspect:

Officers confiscate weapons, guns, protective gear from a rioter. Suspect was taken into custody. #StLVerdict pic.twitter.com/2rObBhQHu8

— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 18, 2017

There was one rather conspicuous Anonymous fan in the crowd on Sunday night:

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

For the third night in a row, a peaceful protest turned violent at nightfall, after the protest was officially over, resulting in property damage and over 80 arrests by the end of the night.

Activists took to the streets this weekend to protest the controversial acquittal of white former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, who was facing first-degree murder charges for killing a black heroin dealer named Anthony Smith in 2011.

Via Fox 2:

On Friday, a judge ruled Stockley, a former St. Louis police officer, was “not guilty” of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a motorist following a high-speed chase in 2011. Stockley could have been sentenced to up to life in prison without parole had he been convicted.

Stockley shot 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith five times after a high-speed chase. Stockley says he saw Smith holding a gun before the chase began, and that he felt he was in imminent danger when he opened fire.

Via the St. Louis Post Dispatch, about 1,000 protesters gathered outside the St. Louis Police Department in Downtown West Sunday and marched into Midtown on Sunday. St. Louis police arrested at least seven people after an unruly mob broke windows, tipped over planters, and damaged property.

The protests started peacefully but by 8 p.m., a small group had marched downtown, breaking several windows in the Marriott hotel on Washington Avenue and at other nearby businesses, including at Olive and 10th streets. A sushi restaurant, a nail salon and an optician’s shop were among those hit. Concrete planters were knocked over and trash cans tossed into the street.

Organizers saying #Stockley protest over; ended back at @SLMPD HQ. pic.twitter.com/oZJjFiGPAV

— Ryan P. Delaney (@rpatrickdelaney) September 17, 2017

Many, many police officers clearing Tucker and Wash Ave after vandals hit random areas downtown earlier. Unlawful assembly pic.twitter.com/ycr4vcMVAO

— Jesse Bogan (@JesseBogan) September 18, 2017

Roughly 100 chanting "shut it down" outside @SLMPD HQ post planned march through #STL #stlprotest pic.twitter.com/mBSTnge3cV

— Casey Nolen (@CaseyNolen) September 18, 2017

Buses carrying police in full riot gear and shields arrived near the downtown location where police said significant property damage was reported following an hours-long nonviolent protest Sunday afternoon and evening. After protest organizers asked people to disband, some remained behind, as they had the previous two nights.

State Rep. Bruce Franks, who has participated in the protests, said those who are violent and vandalizing “are not protesters,” saying they are part of a group separate from those marching as part of organized demonstrations.

One bike officer was injured with a non-non-life-threatening leg injury.

A bike officer with a leg injury is being transported to a hospital for treatment. Injuries are non-life threatening. #STLVerdict

— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 18, 2017

Reporters on the ground said that they didn’t see any tear gas deployed on Sunday night, but police did use rubber bullets.

At one point during the melee, an unmarked police car backed up at a high rate of speed through the protesters:

https://youtu.be/kFHrs0YTvTk

The St. Louis Police Department put out the following statement to explain what happened:

Video: Incident at 20th and Locust involving unmarked police vehicle. #STLVerdict– https://t.co/PDCve0cMfC pic.twitter.com/WONQFDvMUC

— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 18, 2017

Protesters break windows downtown; at least 7 taken into custody https://t.co/E83L3IMGh7 pic.twitter.com/FaWqU620Ce

— St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday) September 18, 2017

A lot of damage in just a short amount of time in downtown #StLouis.#STLVerdict #stockleyprotests
(The official protest ended hours ago) pic.twitter.com/mmUYKi7AGw

— Anam Siddiq (@anamsiddiq) September 18, 2017

Seven people were reported arrested while Sunday night’s mayhem was still unfolding.

Two more were arrested in the area after their car crashed into an innocent motorist. It was not immediately clear if the these suspects were part of Sunday’s riot.

2 arrested after speeding car crashes into innocent motorist at 7th & Olive. Guns, drugs, mask found in vehicle. #stlverdict pic.twitter.com/jWP8KX7UKt

— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 18, 2017

The St. Louis Police Department later tweeted that they were arresting numerous more agitators who refused to disperse, so the total number of arrests will likely be between ten and twenty.

After giving multiple warnings to disperse, police are making numerous arrests. #stlverdict

— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 18, 2017

At a late-night news conference the St. Louis Police Department announced that there were more than 80 arrests in all.

“I’m proud to tell you the city of St. Louis is safe and the police owned the night,” said acting police chief Lawrence O’Toole. “Tonight we made more than 80 arrests,” he said. “We confiscated at least five weapons.”

The chief also said that “those who set out to do damage were arrested & should be prosecuted. This is our city & we will protect it.”

O’Toole said an unspecified number of officers were injured on Sunday night. “Some criminals assaulted law enforcement officers and threw chemicals and rocks at them. All of the officer’s injuries were minor or moderate. All will be returning to duty soon.”