Former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was found not guilty in the death of Anthony Lamar Smith, according to a press release from St. Louis circuit attorney Kimberly Gardner this morning. Read the latest on the decision.
Earlier this week, Mayor Lyda Krewson urged the city to remain calm while awaiting the verdict in the first-degree murder trial of Jason Stockley, a former St. Louis police officer who fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith after a police chase in 2011. The case has since attracted significant attention, and barricades have been set up downtown at two courthouses and city police headquarters. As St. Louis awaits a decision, here's a brief overview of the case:
What happened: In December 2011, Stockley, a 31-year-old officer, shot and killed Smith following a suspected drug transaction and high-speed chase, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Stockley first shot at Smith's car in a Church’s Chicken parking lot at Thekla Avenue and Riverview Boulevard after, police said, Smith reached for something in his car and drove toward the officers. Smith sped away and the chase began, ending in a crash about a mile away. Stockley then shot Smith five times after, Stockley contends, he again saw Smith reach for something. Police said they found heroin and a gun in Smith's vehicle. Smith was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Why now: When Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce charged Stockley with first-degree murder, in May 2016, it had been more than five years since the shooting. In the interim, the Board of Police Commissioners settled a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Smith’s daughter for $900,000, according to the Post. Stockley resigned and moved to Houston. The case again captured public attention in April 2016, when activists gathered in front of City Hall and claimed that the police had covered up the truth in the shooting and demanded charges against Stockley. Activist Anthony Shahid told the Post that Smith’s mother, who was at the gathering, had thought Stockley was in jail.
Why Stockley was charged: When Stockley first approached Smith outside the fast-food restaurant, he carried his personal AK-47 rifle, which violates department policy. (He was later suspended for 30 days.) The police car's dashboard camera and two other videos show Smith backing into a police SUV and past Stockley, nearly knocking the rifle from Stockley’s hands. During the subsequent chase, Stockley reported over the police radio that shots had been fired and, according to court records, he said, “Going to kill this (expletive), don’t you know it.” Prosecutors in the Stockley case argue that Smith did not have a gun, that Stockley fired his gun five times at Smith following the car chase (including a final shot an estimated 6 inches from Smith), and that the officer planted the revolver found in Smith's car and did not follow police procedure by handling evidence while wearing gloves. Police reports showed that only Stockley’s DNA was found on the revolver. Stockley’s attorney argued that the officer was not on trial for violating policy and that “no conclusions can be drawn from Stockley’s DNA on the gun because he unloaded it and ‘rendered it safe’ after the shooting,” according to the Post.
After charging Stockley, Joyce told the Post, “I’m disappointed, because I know what fine public servants the vast majority of police officers are, and this kind of conduct on the part of this former officer doesn’t reflect the excellent work I see from them every day. So it’s disappointing in that regard, but it’s important that people understand that if you commit a crime, and we have the evidence to prove it, it doesn’t matter to us what you do for a living. Our job is to hold people accountable if we have the evidence. And in this case, we do.”
Why a judge and no jury: In July, Stockley waived his right to trial by a jury, so his fate will be decided by Wilson. His attorneys are operating under a gag order, so they have not been able to explain why they made the decision. Legal experts, however, have said that it makes sense for a number of reasons. Peter Joy, a professor at Washington University School of Law, told the Associated Press that the decision “has a lot to do with the public’s awareness of the shooting, especially in St. Louis.”
“Also, in some parts of the city, relations between the police and citizens of the city are not great,” Joy told the Post. “It may be a little difficult to get a fair hearing with a jury in this case, so a judge might be better” for the defense.
Wilson wrote that he granted the request to a trial without a jury because “after 28 years serving as a trial judge, the Court is confident in its own judgment and analytical abilities.”
Why the barricades: The attorneys made closing arguments August 9, and Wilson gave them until August 18 to file post-trial briefs. On August 28, more than 45 activists and clergy and Smith’s mother gathered at the steps of the Carnahan Courthouse. An activist warned of “mass disruption” if Stockley is acquitted.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens said that if the verdict sparks protests, he could call in the National Guard, according to the Post. “We are going to protect people’s constitutional rights," he said, "and we are going to protect public safety."
Krewson has said the city is on edge as it awaits the verdict: “We have watched, in this country and in our region, that legal decisions can and do result in families, and sometimes entire communities, being left without a sense of justice,” the mayor said in a video posted Tuesday. She urged people to “try and understand the reactions of others and be open to what we don’t understand in other’s reactions. Ask ourselves how we might feel if it was our son, daughter, mom, dad, or friend at the center of this legal decision.”
