In the initial two days of testimony in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri’s lawsuit against the City of St. Louis, the attorneys for both sides called witnesses and tried to answer the question the case will revolve around: Has the police department’s treatment of protestors since the acquittal of Jason Stockley been justified?
The case is now in the injunction phase. Federal Judge Catherine D. Perry has so far heard testimony from protestors, legal observers and bystanders who described what they felt was unprovoked police brutality. Judge Perry will decide whether to grant some or all of the requested actions of the injunction until the trial.
The witnesses were called by the ACLU’s lawyers, Anthony Rothert, Jessie Steffan and Omri Praiss.
On the second day of testimony, she heard the police officers called by the city’s attorneys, Anthony Relys and Thomas McDonnell. The officers said the response by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) was measured and justified.
The testimony focused around the weekend after the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley murder trial, particularly the events of September 15 and 17. The formal plaintiffs in the case were Alison Dreith and Maleeha Ahmad, who testified to being pepper sprayed in the face during protests on September 15 with no warning or cause.
Keith Rose also testified about being pepper sprayed, kicked and zip-tied during the “kettling” mass arrest at the intersection of Tucker and Washington during the night of September 15. Rose said he followed all orders he was given by police officers and could only see one reason why he was targeted: He was filming the events on his phone.
During cross-examination, the city attorney drew attention to Rose’s history of protesting and the many times he had protested in the City of St. Louis without reprisal. Rose said there was a clear pattern — he only faced that treatment when he was attending protests against police brutality.
When asked why his treatment hadn’t deterred him from protesting in the future, Rose said it would have if he had let it.
“I realized that none of this would stop unless we stood up to it,” Rose said.
Steven Hoffman, a member of the National Lawyers’ Guild who attends St. Louis protests as a legal observer, also testified to a pattern of unwarranted use of chemical weapons. On September 15, he said, he had just arrived on Euclid to observe when he noticed a red laser pointer on his chest like the sight of a gun.
As he tried to get away, Hoffman said, he was hit with pepper pellets (which contain the same chemicals as pepper spray) and the crowd was tear gassed. When Hoffman asked the officer why they hadn’t been warned, he testified that the officer replied, “I don’t have to give you any f-ing warning.”
Pi Pizzeria owner Chris Sommers, who was subpoenaed by the plaintiffs, also testified that a tear gas canister was thrown towards him without warning as he filmed the police outside his restaurant.
“I just thought it was atrocious,” said Sommers, who testified that he is a lifelong supporter of the police and a friend of Mayor Lyda Krewson, who has ultimate authority over the police department.
Many of the plaintiff’s witnesses focused on the events at Tucker and Washington on September 17, the first “kettling” event at the Stockley protests. Two compelling witnesses to those events were Iris and Alex Nelson, a recently married couple who left their apartment on Washington Avenue that Sunday to see what was going on after noticing the increased police presence.
Iris Nelson testified that as she and her husband walked around the neighborhood, they stuck to the sidewalks and crossed the streets legally, but as they tried to return to their building, they found their path blocked and then realized they were closed in on all four sides.
Alex Nelson, who is a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, said he realized quickly from his training what was happening. The two got down on the ground to avoiding seeming like they were resisting arrest. Iris Nelson testified that she did not see anyone defying the police’s orders.
Nevertheless, both were pepper sprayed while on the ground; Alex Nelson was sprayed several times while his eyes were open, blinding him for several hours. He said he was then drug across the ground and zip-tied as tightly as possible. He testified that he was hit in the head with an implement he couldn’t see, and that a police officer said, “Do you like that, cocksucker? We’ll see you again tomorrow night.”
Nelson said he knows from his military training that his treatment was improper.
“It’s reminiscent of counterterrorism tactics,” he said.
Both were arrested and held for over 20 hours with no access to medical care. Alex Nelson asked to be allowed to call his supervisors at Scott Air Force Base to tell them he could not report to work, but was denied use of a phone.
Nelson, who has a top-secret security clearance, said he does not know yet whether the arrest will affect his career. He said he is still in physical therapy due to the injuries he received.
The ACLU attorneys introduced several videos into evidence depicting the events of the night, showing officers closing in on all four sides of the intersection, leaving protesters and observers with nowhere to go.
Most of those videos ended with the camera being pointed at the ground as its owner was told to get down and then pepper sprayed, arrested, or both. Videographer Demetrius Thomas testified that he stopped at the intersection to film when he saw the large police presence and that his $800 camera lens was broken as he tried to get back to his car. He was also arrested.
Chemical weapons weren’t the only painful tactic used by the police. Medical student Dillan Newbold was protesting on September 17 and was caught in the kettle at Washington and Tucker. Newbold testified that he was pepper sprayed several times in the face, then his hands were zip-tied so tightly they cut off blood circulation in his hands. After being arrested and held for 15 hours, he received a diagnosis of nerve damage and still lacks feeling in parts of his hands.
As he was arrested, Newbold said in his witness statement, an officer said, “I’m so glad I’m in St. Louis and get to do shit like this!”
Jon Ziegler, the protest livestreamer known online as Rebelutionary Z, testified that SLMPD officers mockingly referred to him as “superstar” and took selfies with him as he was pepper sprayed and arrested. A 45-minute video from Ziegler’s livestream was entered into evidence.
On cross-examination, Ziegler was quizzed about his assertion that he didn’t see anyone resisting arrest at the protest. The city attorney pointed out that after Ziegler was temporarily blinded by pepper spray, he could not have seen what was going on.
“My camera did,” Ziegler said, “and we all saw that.”
The city’s attorneys kept it brief with most witnesses on cross-examination. They focused on asking them whether they were aware of property damage and injuries to police officers at the time they decided to protest, or when they were arrested. For witnesses who were frequent protestors, the attorney established that the majority of the time, they were not hit with pepper spray or other chemicals.
The first witness for the defense was SLMPD Lieutenant Timothy Sachs, who leads the department’s Civil Disobedience Team (CDT). These are the officers trained to respond to protests, who wear body armor and helmets and carry plastic shields.
Sachs said the CCT was not deployed until late in the night of September 15. Until then, he said, the officers waited on buses, which had to be moved when protestors surrounded them, yelling and throwing things.
Sachs testified to the events at St. Louis Mayor Krewson’s house on the night of September 15, which he said were the catalyst for deploying officers in tactical gear. Several windows were broken and the house was vandalized.
Sachs said police officers were “completely overwhelmed” as protestors threw objects including bricks, broken pieces of concrete and frozen water bottles, knocking one officer to the ground. They were also targeted, he said, by red paint with some kind of burning chemical in it. He said the proper warnings have been issued for all uses of chemical weapons and the police are not required to warn for the use of pepper spray.
The parties to the case will be back in court on Monday, October 23 for more testimony from the defendant’s witnesses and legal arguments from the city and the ACLU. At the end of this phase of the legal process, Judge Perry will decide whether to proceed to a full trial and whether to grant the ACLU’s request for an immediate injunction to protect the rights of those protesting or observing protests.
Jessica Karins is an editorial intern for the St. Louis American from Webster University.
