Hours after former Florissant detective Joshua Smith was charged for assault stemming from a violent arrest on June 2, the groups that originally called for his arrest stayed in the streets with their protests.
Wednesday morning, Joshua Smith was arrested and charged with first and fourth-degree assault and armed criminal action as the result of a violent arrest where he is seen on camera running down 20-year-old black male in an unmarked detective vehicle.
St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar announced the charges and Smith’s arrest during an 11:30 a.m. press conference. By 11 a.m. Smith had already been released on bail, which was set at $50,000.
Respect Us protesters gathered at 2 p.m. for the third consecutive day to stand to not only celebrate the arrest – but demand that the additional officers in the video be held accountable as well.
“Indict, convict send those killer cops to jail,” Respect Us shouted just as they did the day before in St. Charles. “Black Lives Matter.”
On Tuesday they engaged with those who didn’t agree with their methods – or their message.
While marching through a park in St. Charles, a white man visiting flipped off protesters from afar. Another white male visitor that shouted, “White lives matter too.” The comment compelled a handful of protesters stayed back to have a conversation with the visitor.
“All lives do matter,” Respect Us protest leader Bishop Derrick Robinson said on Tuesday. “But until my black life matters just as much as yours, I’m going to continue to be specific.”
On Wednesday Respect Us took their action back to St. Louis County.
Robinson asked the group of approximately 20 protesters to join him in Clayton at the St. Louis County Justice Center and demand for Smith’s bail to be raised.
The group shut down Forest Park Parkway, and they spoke with the victim’s lawyer.
On Thursday, June 18 at 6 p.m., Respect Us will return to the Florissant police department to demand that the other two officers involved in Smith’s use of excessive force be fired, arrested and charged just as Smith had been.
“We ain’t paying you to be on vacation, so you got to go,” Robinson said.
Expect Us rallies at the Workhouse
As the press conference was happening announcing charges being brought against Smith, members of the Expect Us protest were simultaneously demanding the closure of the Medium Security Institution, more widely known as the Workhouse. Expect Us organized a morning and an evening rally to demand the facility’s closure as part of the Close The
The campaign’s three primary organizational partners include Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, and Bail Project St. Louis.
As three drummers kept the beat, protestors chanted, “Tell them your demands,” “defund the police.”
The chants continued throughout the rally in between speakers.
They returned for a second rally in the evening.
“I believe that we will win,” and “Ain’t no power like the power of the people because the power of the people won’t stop,” they said during the chants.
A member of Expect Us named Cheyenne asked the crowd to call their aldermen and tell them their demands to defund the police.
On Friday, June 19, Expect Us will be hosting a Juneteenth celebration at 5 p.m. in front of St. Louis City Hall.
