Violence in St. Louis

So, umm, this has been happening.

More than 80 arrested after protest violence downtown; 'Police owned tonight,' chief says

Ugly weekend in the Arch City. And I really don't see how that area de-escalates in the long run. It has to be one of the most, if not the most, racially polarized places in America.

 

The PD chanting "Whose streets? Our streets!" while arresting people was not a good look.

 

Some have claimed on the first night police broke some windows and blamed protesters.

 

Did we discuss this case here when it first happened?

I don't remember it at all. I'm also surprised to see how long it took to go to trial. What was the reason for this?

I don't know much about the case, but people I respect say it doesn't look good.

Heard on the radio a bit ago that the officer gets something out of his duty bag in his car after the shooting. He then "adjusts his waistband", and walks "empty handed" back to the other car, where a gun was found.

He told the FBI that he did this prior to providing first aid. But, he never provided first aid, and the gun had the police officer's DNA on it, but not the dead guy's DNA.

 

Read last night that police surrounded a group of people that included a P-D reporter and ACLU people, then arrested them for failure to disperse.

 

Not sure of all the details, but over the weekend a P-D article mentioned in passing that additional evidence came to light within the last year or so.

 

Make America 1968 Again

 

‘A lot of people are saying . . . ’: How Trump spreads conspiracies and innuendoes

 

Dueling surveillance videos:

St. Louis police refute claim an officer broke Culpeppers window with surveillance video

 

I stink at twitter and computers, but a few tweets from someone on the scene.

 

always amazed by people who have time to protest. Must be time-management savants

#postingwhilewhite

 

I'm thinking it was better in 1968, at least there. Grew up on the Illinois side of St. Louis, and remember going to the only Sears around (cross reference Things That Make You Feel Old thread for multiple reasons) in East St. Louis in the 1968-70 timeframe. Sure seemed like people of different races co-existed better then than now in that town. How very sad.

Have a ton of family still there--one of the few that have moved elsewhere. I've lived in Chicago and Atlanta and driven in some of the roughest parts of both of those cities and never felt at risk, but I would piss my pants before getting off the interstate in some places of North St. Louis.

It's a shame. It's a nice, little city that has a lot to offer, but it's on a death spiral. Maybe the geographically dispersed suburbanites can bring the economic muscle to save it, but I'm thinking it's going down and big time. No business will want to be there, no investors will want that risk. Probably soon to be like Green Bay and the Packers where only the Cardinals remain.