St. Louis police appear to be engaged in systemic police brutality against both protesters and reporters on the ground. In a video shot on Sunday night, police can be seen boxing in protesters and closing in on them from all sides for a “mass arrest” that included journalists and ACLU legal observers.
In a video from St. Louis-based live streaming journalist Rebelutionary Z, police can be clearly seen threatening and pepper spraying protesters who’d been boxed in. As police ordered protesters drop to the ground, they begin indiscriminately pepper spraying them, even while they are complying, or trying to comply, with the officers orders.
At least one officer appears to recognize “Rebelutionary Z” and directly takes aim, repeatedly spraying the journalist in the face before aggressively handcuffing him, shoving his face in the cement and then again pepper spraying him. It was all caught on the live stream before the feed went dead. Watch:
He wasn’t released from jail until mid-morning, sharing a photo of himself once he got out of jail:
Just got out of jail….still completely covered in pepper spray, but ok… pic.twitter.com/5XNqfk01JL
— Rebelutionary Z (@Rebelutionary_Z) 18 September 2017
St. Louis police desperately need an education in de-escalation tactics. For now, the riot police only seem to be fanning the flames of protest and now the public and the police appear to be caught in a vicious cycle of angst, tension and violence.