All that being said, here are my objections to this particular circus. Trigger warning: profanity and racial slurs ahead. Proceed at your own risk.
The very basic news here, and I really do recommend you read a few news sites on your own, is that officers Stockley and Bianchi tried to arrest Smith in a Church's Chicken parking lot. Smith fired up his car, slammed it into the Official Police SUV, and showed them what the taillights of a Buick looked like. Stockley had his AK-47 pistol out and ready to go, but he chose to swap it out for his department issue Beretta 9mm instead. Stockley fired 7 shots at the departing Buick and failed to hit anything vital. We'll presume he hit the car.
Stockley then ran back to the SUV, jumped in and instructed his partner, Bianchi, to give chase, which Bianchi does. The whole business is recorded on dash cam, and we can hear Stockley say that, quote: we’re killing this motherfucker, don’t you know,. Smith crashes his Buick, Stockley tells Bianchi to ram the Buick (which he does), then Stockley jumps out of the car, switches his AK-47 pistol for his department issue Beretta 9mm, walks up to the driver's side of the Buick, smashes the driver's side window out, and shoots Smith five times. The final shot is fired at a range of six inches. Smith is left to bleed out.
Stockley returns to the police SUV and rummages around in the trunk. He retrieves something, but we can't see just what, and goes back to the passenger side of the Buick. He goes inside the car, rummages around some more, then retreats.
The cops find a .38 revolver in the Buick tucked down between the console and the passenger seat, however, Smith's DNA is not on the revolver. Instead, Stockley's DNA is all over the gun.
Well, how about that?
Prosecutors argue that the .38, a full size Taurus, is a drop gun. It didn't have Smith's DNA on it, but it had Stockley's DNA all over it. Smith was not trying to kill anyone, he was trying to get away. Stockley was carrying an unapproved sidearm (the AK), which he'd been told not to do before this, but did anyway. Stockley wanted to kill Smith, said so, then did so, ergo Stockley is guilty of premeditated murder.
You can read a fairly decent timeline of this entire business at this link: Timeline in Murder Case Against ex-St. Louis Police Officer, but here's a list of the players and a basic timeline.
The Players
Ex-St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, shooterSt. Louis police officer Brian Bianchi, Stockley's partner
Heroin dealer and Criminal Anthony Lamar Smith, Shooting victim
Hangin' Judge Timothy J. Wilson, trial judge
The Timeline
- December 20, 2011; Anthony Lamar Smith shot to death by then St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley
- February 6, 2012; Civil suit filed for wrongful death on behalf of Autumn Smith, daughter of Anthony Smith
- December, 2013; St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners paid a $900,000 settlement to Smith's family on behalf of Autumn Smith
- May 16, 2016; Jason Stockley arrested and charged with first degree murder. New evidence is cited.
- August 1, 2017; Trial begins
- August 9, 2017; Trial ends
- September 15, 2017; Not guilty verdict.
So this whole business started on 12/20/2011 and ended on 9/15/2017. That's 2097 days, or 5 years, 8 months, and 27 days until we get to the end of the entire sordid business, and after all this time we get to find out that this murderous son-of-a-bitch gets to walk. These are the same kind of tactics used to get Unrepentant ex-police officer Thomas White off.
You can read the Prosecution's Summary and the Defence's Summary on line and see what you think. Me, I think Anthony Lamar Smith was murdered by St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley, and I think Judge Timothy J. Wilson is dirty as hell.
There have been protests ever since the verdict was released, all of which have turned violent after dark. Last night, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there were More than 80 arrested after protest violence downtown; 'Police owned tonight,' chief says
From the article:
Shortly after the arrests, at Tucker Boulevard and Washington Avenue, police officers were heard by reporters chanting "Whose streets? Our streets," commandeering a common refrain used by protesters.
Right, that's really going to help. Why doesn't the city just hire some cheerleaders for the boys in blue while they're at it?
I condemn violent protests, and I always have done so. I, however, support the idea of protesting a clearly corrupt justice department. Until something is done by the Federal Government to fix the corruption, including judges that have no business being on the bench, the protests should continue.
5 comments:
I am really becoming of the opinion that we need to attach the state of Missouri to California with very large chains so that when the big one hits, it will follow Cali into the abyss. Thanks much for the full story.
Truly a good suggestion, but there are States in between - Colorado (my gun owning cousins live in CO; their collection is larger than mine, and she shoots better than he does, and thinks nothing of dressing out her own game), Arizona, and Kansas.
But you know the refugees from the Big One will have to go somewhere, and there's plenty of room in St. Louis. :)
Mad Jack:
---Your provided the best and most comprehensive study about this incident. I rad a few of the stories attached to it, and it's not hard to figure out who is in bed with who.
---While I come from a police family (from Philly - a couple decades back) I'm a FIRM believer that LEOs have to hold themselves to a HIGHER standard than everyone else...OR ELSE.
---Dropping a "seed gun" (as we used to call it) is a primary NO-NO...period.
---PEACEFUL protests are fine, as long as they don't turn violent, AND are kept in the correct CONTEXT to the situation.
---I do like Chris's idea about MO...makes sense...lol.
Very good post.
Roll safe out there.
Bob G: You and I think exactly alike. The police I've seen (read Cops: My Ride Along if you haven't done so) all have been exemplary citizens.
I don't think that many people have read about the actual incident. All they know about are the protests, every single one of which turned violent after dark - kind of says something, doesn't it? But I strongly believe that this one should be protested. Peacefully, yes, but protested.
Appreciate the clarity of your timeline. Our juridical system, slow, tedious, seemingly one-sided, and a long way from perfect still is composed of layers of oversight and appeal through a designed process. Those who become impatient with it need to take a deep breath and understand it does not exist to satisfy their desires but rather to attempt to establish a truth will out mechanism. When LEO create street justice they certainly need to be judged and corrected. The entire commercial(it is a business after all) enterprise falls far short with an us v them mentality, circle the wagons, and protect the less than prolific in the ranks with a false loyalty. They need a better method of policing themselves of their interior cancers. Seems to apply in this case.
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