Free Republic

ST. LOUIS • Former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was found not guilty Friday of murdering a man while on duty. St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson's highly anticipated verdict found a white former St. Louis police officer not guilty of first-degree murder and amed criminal action in the December 2011 shooting death of a black drug suspect after a high-speed pursuit and crash. Activists, with support from some of the city's black clergy, had pledged disruptive protests ahead of St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson's verdict.

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A Missouri judge on Friday ruled a white former St. Louis police officer was not guilty of murder in the 2011 shooting of a black man, sending hundreds of protesters to the city's streets to voice their anger. With the National Guard on standby in case of violence, authorities appealed to protesters to march peacefully in a state that has seen racially charged clashes in the past. Jason Stockley, 36, was acquitted of first-degree murder for killing Anthony Lamar Smith, 24. The former policeman, who was arrested in May 2016, was accused of planting a gun...

Several businesses in and near downtown are closing early in response to the Jason Stockley verdict. The home office of Wells Fargo Advisors closed at 10 a.m. Friday. The 4,900 employees at the Market Street campus west of downtown were "strongly encouraged to take their laptops home" and continue working there," based on a statement from the company.