St. Louis County and Richmond Heights police arrested at least 22 protesters during a chaotic scene at the Saint Louis Galleria on Saturday afternoon. Police temporarily turned shoppers away from mall entrances after the arrests, and many stores locked their doors for nearly two hours.
The demonstrations marked the eighth successive day of protests following the acquittal of former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, who fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011.
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Protesters met outside the mall around noon and eventually made their way inside, where they they walked the halls while chanting, “No justice! No profits!” Protesters were in the mall for nearly 30 minutes before arrests began.
As protesters descended a second-floor escalator near the Macy’s department store, police began blowing whistles and making arrests. In a video filmed at 1:08 p.m., police are seen tackling, chasing, and handcuffing people.
Four minutes later, the St. Louis County Police tweeted, “Dispersal orders given loud and clear after destructive actions at the Galleria. Arrests appear to be imminent.”
At the time, it was unclear what those destructive actions were. FOX 2 reported: “Police say that at some point, an individual involved in the march threw a garbage can as protesters tried to ride an escalator to the second floor of the mall. According to police, mall management did not want the group blocking shoppers access to the escalators and asked that all involved be removed. That’s when the Richmond Heights Police Department requested the assistance of the St. Louis County Police Department.”
The Galleria’s code of conduct prohibits “any activity that would disrupt the legitimate business of the property and its tenants,” and it notes, “The center is a privately owned property. Guests who do not act responsibly may be asked to leave. If they refuse to leave the property, they may be arrested and prosecuted for criminal trespass.”
Several first-hand witnesses reported not hearing police give an order for dispersal before officers began arresting people.
“They were getting whoever they could get, randomly,” said Tricia Harris, 38. She marched with the group and said they were heading toward the exit when the arrests started. “It was barbaric. It’s wrong.”
A St. Louis couple who identified themselves as Denise and Deraj were sitting on a couch in the lobby outside Macy’s while taking a break from shopping when police started arresting people.
“No one was being disruptive in any way other than chanting” when the arrests began, said Denise. “It was just scary. I’ve never witnessed anything like that.”
As the couple walked toward the exit, they passed a small pool of blood on the floor.
See more live footage of the arrests:
No Justice, No Profits
“No justice, no profits” has served as a frequent rally cry at recent protests, which have occurred in shopping and entertainment districts during the past week. Saturday was the second time in four days that demonstrators gathered at the Galleria. Demonstrators have also appeared at the St. Louis Outlet Mall in Hazelwood, West County Center in Des Peres, and Chesterfield Mall.
See also: Some protesters are aiming to disrupt St. Louis business
“I think economic pressure is working,” said the Rev. Karla Frye, 57, who was arrested at the Galleria and spoke by phone from inside the county jail. She was joined at the mall by her 40-year-old niece and 13-year-old grandson, who were also both arrested. Her grandson appeared to be having asthma-related breathing problems during the arrest and was released later that afternoon, according to Frye. (Frye’s arrest can been seen in the video above. In it, she wears a colorful dashiki. Her 13-year-old grandson has a red shirt on and is being arrested nearby.)
“I want people to know that the protests are really effecting change. This is an accumulation of years of oppression brought to the fore,” Frye said. She added that the racial, age, and economic diversity within the protest groups give her hope.
Not everyone in the Galleria viewed the protests so positively, though. “I feel terrible for the police. They are insulted and cussed out and not able to react,” said a 44-year-old small-business owner who gave the name Barbara. She said she came to the mall after hearing about the protests to “thank every officer for his or her service in protecting local businesses, property, and people who simply want to live a law-abiding life.”
Tina Stuckenberg, 55, and Marie Imo, 54, stood outside Macy’s after police had mostly cleared the area. “They’re not peaceful. How’s it peaceful when you start walking through the mall with megaphones?” Stuckenberg said of the demonstrators. “They started going around like animals. That’s why they got arrested.”
She, Imo, and other customers were locked inside the main department store doors during the protest.
“The thing is, it has hurt all of our businesses,” Imo said.
Following the arrests, many stores remained closed for an hour or more. Renee Laird, 42, was agitated as she stood in a crowd outside the Apple store, waiting for the doors to be unlocked. She drove two hours, from her home in Waltonville, Illinois, to get her daughter’s iPhone fixed and was unaware of the planned protest.
“My thoughts are, ‘Why can’t everyone just get along?’” she said.
Other protest events
Protesters regrouped outside the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton, where those where were arrested are being held. By Saturday night, protests formed outside The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Clayton and later Target in Brentwood. Protesters briefly blocked Eager Road before police drove them back to the sidewalk and declared that the protest had become an unlawful assembly. By 8 p.m., most protesters had left.
Earlier Saturday, around noon, a group of more than 100 protesters gathered downtown outside the America’s Center, where evangelist Joyce Meyer was holding a conference.
UPDATE: September 26, 2:51 p.m. Local officials and religious leaders held a press conference at St. Peters AMC Church on Monday, calling for an investigation into police tactics used during the protest at the Galleria on Saturday. The group alleged that St. Louis County police used excessive force and prevented protesters from exercising their right to free speech.
“We are not anti-law enforcement, but we are against extreme police tactics that can only be explained as a police riot,” said State Rep. Stacey Newman. “This is not acceptable in our state.”
“Citizens have been allowed to exercise their First Amendment Rights,” St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “However, when those protests descend into criminal activity, law enforcement has no other choice but to intervene.”
