At the bitter end of 2014, protests sparked by the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., show no signs of abating.
In a demonstration that is still unfolding at the time of publication, people swarmed the St. Louis Metro Police Department headquarters and briefly occupied the lobby.
Marchers will be spending next 4.5 hours at #StLouis police headquarters. @RE_invent_ED reading demands. pic.twitter.com/ZgjFkVyqDU
— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) December 31, 2014
https://vine.co/v/OwI7dKiPYHt
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Participants handed out a mock “Eviction Notice” and circulated a list of demands, including a meeting with either St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Chief of Police Sam Dotson, or Board of Aldermen president Lewis Reed—the first African-American to ever hold the elected position.
Demands that #Ferguson protesters have taped to windows at #StLouis police headquarters. pic.twitter.com/RSnGty2NCh
— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) December 31, 2014
#Ferguson protesters outside #stlouis police headquarters, handing this out. pic.twitter.com/ImBdkV5nlB
— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) December 31, 2014
Already, reports of arrests and pepper spray use are trickling in via Twitter and Vine. Officers at the scene may also have deployed tear gas, and apparently called for backup.
https://vine.co/v/OwjYmIehpEz
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Pushing and shoving and yelling in lobby. pic.twitter.com/NIezg0PSxe
— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) December 31, 2014
Also entering. And now mace. #ferguson #stlouis pic.twitter.com/sCKpqxH0vY
— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) December 31, 2014
Tense with police. Marchers approach, get pepper spray. #stlouis
— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) December 31, 2014
.@KoranAddo and @PDPJ hit with mace. Getting treated.
— elisacrouch (@elisacrouch) December 31, 2014
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/550345344928600064
Officer with a cigar. Y'all. https://t.co/JOKcX8Gi0r
— deray (@deray) December 31, 2014
Protesters also called for the firing of officer Randy Hayes, who shot and killed 25-year-old Kajieme Powell days after Brown’s death in an encounter captured on video, and officer Jason Flannery, who, while off-duty one night in October, killed teenager Vonderrit Myers Jr. Police said Myers fired first; an autopsy showed he was shot six times in the back.
“Clear and transparent protocol when a person dies in police custody,” encompassing immediate “medical attention for victims” and the instant release of the involved officers’ names, appears on the list of demands as well. “They are common-sense demands,” activist Rasheen Aldridge told the St. Louis American. “We can’t ask anymore; we have to demand it.”
Photo via @elisacrouch/Twitter