One year ago on September 17, 2017, U.S. Air Force Capt. Alex Nelson and his wife, Iris, were looking down from their building’s rooftop in downtown St. Louis, watching protestors express their outrage that former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley was acquitted of murdering Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011.
After things had calmed down around 11 p.m., the couple went downstairs near Washington Avenue and Tucker Boulevard to “see what had happened,” according to the lawsuit that the Nelsons filed against the City of St. Louis and police on Monday, September 17.
They soon found themselves surrounded by riot police on all sides. Police were beating their batons on the ground and closing in, or “kettling,” everyone who was caught in the middle. No dispersal order was given, the lawsuit states, and the police would not allow the Nelsons to go back home.
When Alex realized they were about to be arrested, “he told his wife to lie face down and put her hands behind her back. He did the same,” the lawsuit states.
Despite their attempt to comply, police allegedly pepper-sprayed the couple directly in the eyes at point-blank range. Officers allegedly beat Alex and then dragged him across the street. While officers were zip-tying Alex’s hands, “an officer laughed at him, taunting, ‘You like that, cocksucker. It’s ok, we’ll see you out here tomorrow night,’” the lawsuit states.
The Nelsons’ lawsuit is among 12 that were filed on the anniversary of the kettling incident, where 123 people total were arrested, and The St. Louis American received embargoed copies of the cases. All cases are being represented jointly by the civil rights law firm ArchCity Defenders and Khazaeli Wyrsch law firm.
“The answer to robust, lawful protest is not violent crackdowns and military-style tactics by police,” said Blake Strode, executive director of ArchCity Defenders. “The kettling arrests of peaceful civilians that took place one year ago constituted a gross violation of the law and abuse of state power, and there are real human beings who suffered as a result.”
The individuals – who include downtown residents, independent journalists, Washington University students and members of the military – said that they were wrongfully beaten, pepper-sprayed and arrested. The lawsuits cite multiple counts of wrongdoing, including unlawful retaliation, assault, battery and violating civil rights.
City officials are reviewing the lawsuits and don’t have a comment at this time, said a spokesman for the city on Tuesday, September 18.
“Many of our clients are still suffering the effects of what happened to them,” said Javad Khazaeli, an attorney on the lawsuits. “Everybody who watches the video should realize that these people were doing absolutely nothing wrong. And if the police were allowed to kettle, pepper-spray and beat compliant citizens who have their hands up and are sitting on the ground, then anybody can be at risk.”
Alex still does not have full mobility in his right hand.
Demetrius Thomas, a professional wedding videographer who was documenting the protests that night, had more than $6,000 worth of photo equipment confiscated or destroyed. He ended up losing clients due to the loss of his cameras, he told American.
“It ended up snowballing to the point that I couldn’t keep up with my bills,” Thomas said, and he eventually lost his home and car.
That night, police allegedly held Thomas’ legs and arms while another beat him in the ribs with a baton. He still has respiratory issues as a result, and he had to get on medication to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I wasn’t able to sleep more than two hours at a time,” he said. “I still have big anxiety near any kind of law enforcement.”
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Baude, another downtown resident who was caught in the kettle, was held in an overcrowded jail cell for 14 hours.
“Baude continues to grapple with feelings of mistrust toward police officers, and the entire incident has undermined his faith in society and the rule of law,” according to Baude’s complaint.
ACLU lawsuit
These lawsuits come nearly a year after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri sued the City of St. Louis in October 2017 in a class-action case over the incident. The ACLU’s lawsuit seeks permanent policy changes for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The new lawsuits seek monetary damages for the individuals whose rights were allegedly violated.
The ACLU’s case cleared the first hurdle soon after it was filed, and the court ordered the City of St. Louis to make temporary changes. On November 15, 2017, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, ordering the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to immediately stop using chemical weapons and adopt other protocols to protect the constitutional rights of those observing, recording or participating in protest activity.
Rather than going to trial, Judge Catherine Perry ordered a mediation process between the police and the ACLU. The deadline to come up with an agreement between the two parties passed on February 1, and now a trial has been set for October 2019. The ACLU and police can still settle in mediation before the trial.
In her order, the judge made some strong statements against the police’s conduct, giving the individual lawsuits a leg up.
Perry stated that the evidence showed that “officers have exercised their discretion in an arbitrary and retaliatory fashion to punish protesters for voicing criticism of police or recording police conduct.” She found that the ACLU is likely to succeed on their claim that the city’s police have “a custom or policy” of deploying pepper spray against citizens who record police or exercise their rights of free speech to criticize officers.
Perry found that the ACLU presented “sufficient, credible testimony and video evidence” of people being maced without warning and who were not “engaging in violent activity” or “in defiance of police commands (because none were given) or were complying with those commands.”
She also stated that no property damage or violence was observed or reported by any officers after 8:30 p.m., “and the scene at the intersection was calm.” There was also no threat to the police.
“In the video most people can be seen standing on sidewalks, but even those few people sitting or standing in closed streets are not observed to block the flow of traffic,” Perry stated.
The ACLU is likely to prevail on their claim that the city’s police have a “custom or policy” to permit any officer to declare an unlawful assembly, even if it doesn’t meet the city or state law’s “force or violence requirement” – violating the First Amendment as well, Perry stated.
Khazaeli said the long drawn out mediation process is disheartening and was also a motivation to file these lawsuits.
“I want to see my clients made whole for the damage that was done to them,” Khazaeli said. “The federal injunction hasn’t changed the way these police act. If they can repeatedly ignore what a federal court tells them to do, what other choices do we have?”
Jeffrey Mittman, ACLU of Missouri executive director, said that a year ago, the St. Louis police disregarded protestors of their constitutional rights.
“The city has not adequately addressed the lack of policies, training, and supervision that allows this disregard to continue,” Mittman said. “Until there is real change, the city will see more lawsuits.”
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice also announced an inquiry into whether St. Louis police violated civil rights of protestors in this incident, but no outcome has been announced.
