For the second Monday in a row since Judge Timothy Wilson announced a not guilty verdict in the first-degree murder charges against Jason Stockley for the 2011 fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith, protesters marched silently down Market Street.
Last night’s march was symbolic of the code of silence among police that they feel offers a shield of protection for officers who target the African American community.
“Blue silence is violence” was the theme of the silent march. Hundreds of protesters assembled and stoically marched from 16th and Market to St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters with blue tape covering their mouths. Each step was ordered as they walked in formation at a pace intentionally slower than the most casual of gaits. The four-block walk took 30 minutes. There was also a unified seriousness planted on each of the marchers faces – even the children.
Once they arrived at their destination, State Rep. Bruce Franks pointed out cases of cop-on-cop incidents where he said officers were victimized by other officers because of the color of their skin.
“We have police officers coming into our neighborhoods telling us, ‘if you tell on a criminal, it is not snitching,’” Franks said. “They tell us that it is our responsibility to get these types of people off the streets. But we can’t get them to return the favor when it comes to their community.”
Franks referred to an incident in June where a black off-duty officer was shot by a white officer after the black officer came out of his North City home to assist with a robbery that was in progress. He also spoke of the recent report of a black undercover officer working protests being beaten by white cops during the Sunday night protests that culminated with a mass arrest of more than 120 individuals.
“A black off-duty officer was shot, because that [white] officer feared for his life,” Franks said. “We have another officer who was beaten by a white officer, because they thought he was a black protester – a black officer that was beaten by a white officer because he was a black man. I’m supposed to believe that you that you will protect me, when you won’t protect your own that look like me.”
Franks told the crowd that those incidents were examples that speak to a much larger issue.
“For our other[non-black] friends in the crowd, I thank y’all for being out here, because there are a lot of folks out there who think it’s far-fetched – they think that it’s a figment of our imagination,” Franks said. “They think it’s just by chance that I keep getting pulled over – not because of my skin color, but for a real reason. We are being targeted. They can say what they want, and they can paint the picture however they feel. But I’m here to tell you the truth.
At the end of the day, my very existence – this skin that we are in – it frightens them. They get the opportunity to pull off their riot gear. They get the opportunity to take off that badge and utility belt. They get to park their cruisers. We don’t get to do that. This body armor that I’ve got, it ain’t going nowhere.”
Franks called for the resignation of interim St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole before leading the crowd to chant “blue silence is violence,” and vowing that the non-stop protests will continue.
“They gonna get tired before we do,” Franks said.
After he acknowledged young protesters for their relentlessness, Brother Anthony Shahid led the crowd to chant the name of Annie Smith, the mother of Anthony Lamar Smith, 25 times. Annie Smith stood alongside Shahid and was filled with emotion as she heard her name called by hundreds of supporters and demanded justice for her son’s death. “Can you imagine what she has been going through for six years?” Shahid asked the crowd.
Shahid that O’Toole should be removed, and claimed the acting chief was a part of a conspiracy to cover up the case of Anthony Lamar Smith. He once again expressed pride in the young people’s efforts – and that they should continue until O’Toole is fired.
“What we want to do is cost them economically – we want to hurt their pockets,” Shahid said. “If we can’t get it, shut it down.”
