At about 11:30 p.m. on June 2, a Florissant police officer driving an unmarked SUV ran into and over an unarmed young black man. The officer then exited his vehicle, pinned down the injured man and struck him twice with his fists. The victim repeated four times, “I don’t have nothing” while the officer cuffed his hands behind his back.
The assault, captured on Ring video that was posted by Real STL News, took less than 30 seconds. The incident occurred in the 9800 block of Eastdell Drive, which is in Dellwood. At first the officer was suspended with pay; the victim reportedly was hospitalized.
Florissant Police Chief Timothy Fagan said the officer was a 31-year-old detective who had been on the force for nine years. Cop Blaster was the first to identify him as Detective Joshua Smith.
“That’s a vacation,” Bishop Derrick Robinson said of the paid suspension. Robinson and the group Respect Us began organizing daily protests at the Florissant Police Department. “We will be out here every day until that officer is fired and arrested,” Robinson said.
The FBI confirmed to The St. Louis American that it is investigating the assault, as is the St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell told The American that he recommended both investigations to Fagen. Bell also assigned St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lomar as a special prosecutor on the case due to a conflict of interest. “A close relative of a staffer in our office was at the scene of the incident,” Bell said. That was Timothy Swope, a Florissant police officer and the son of Tim Swope, Bell’s director of operations.
“What I saw was shocking and disturbing, but that’s all I know,” Lomar told reporters on Monday, June 8. “There’s a lot more to it that we need to know before we get to the bottom of it and know what the truth is. What I’ve seen so far doesn’t look good.” He also said there is a second Ring video from across the street that investigators will observe.
“If any of us had committed the same action as what the police committed, we would be in jail now,” Rev. Darryl Gray, an organizer in the Expect Us coalition, said at a press conference on Monday.
Minister Carole Jackson, a retired University City police commander, said a paid suspension was unacceptable based on the evidence in the video.
“You did a crime, and now you’re going to get paid to sit at home,” Jackson said on Monday. “I am sick of my profession that I laid my life down for 38-plus years being hijacked by racism and all the mess that’s going on.”
The night before, on Sunday, Missouri National Guard soldiers were posted at the Florissant Police Department during a protest. Three police officers also faced the protestors with M16 rifles.
Protestors voiced their anger, directing their messages at the soldiers. Some put their goggles on as police clenched their pepper spray. A group of officers positioned behind the soldiers loaded a tear gas canister, though they did not fire it.
Two police officers engaged in conversations with protest leaders who were present during the Ferguson unrest. In a moment of solidarity, one officer admitted frustration with the vehicular assault.
“I understand,” the officer said as he talked with the veteran protestor. “We have people back here who are just as upset as you are.”
Two other officers, including Swope, are being investigated for the incident. Clergy said any cops at the scene who did not stop the assault should also be charged.
Clergy and white allies have been attending Florissant protests, standing in between the other protestors and the police.
On Monday night, protestors marched to the home of Florissant Mayor Tim Lowery. Lowery was the chief of police in Florissant before being elected mayor last year. Protestors lined up on the edge of the property occupying the public street in front of nine police officers lining the house.
Robinson addressed the Florissant mayor by talking to the Ring camera, which is the same kind of camera used to expose Joshua Smith.
“We know you’re watching,” Robinson said. “We will continue to show up in your city every day.”
Apparently, the message was heard. On Wednesday, June 10, Fagen announced that Smith had been fired. Until Smith is arrested, if Robinson is true to his word, Florissant can still expect Respect Us.
To remain anonymous or potentially receive a reward for evidence regarding this assault, contact CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371TIPS (8477).
Ashley Jones, Rebecca Rivas, Kenya Vaughn, Sandra Jordan and Carrie Zhang contributed to this report.
