About 50 who received court summons following the protest at the Galleria in September last year came to the Richmond Heights city council meeting Monday to express their opinions of the charges to city officials.
The protest last year was following the acquittal of former St. Louis police Officer Jason Stockley in the fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011.
Twenty-two were arrested in September. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, They were charged with misdemeanor counts of rioting, and interfering with or resisting arrest. One woman was also charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer, a felony.
A source who was at the meeting, said Tuesday morning that 23 of those who came spoke before the council. He said all were respectful.
Also in the meeting, Director of Parks and Recreation Teresa Proebsting, reported on the coming renovation to The Heights. The pool will be closed for six months to be rebuilt, and then the upstairs workout area will be closed — in sections — for six months for the work there.
The pool work could begin in March 2019. The city is looking for an alternate pool to offer swimmers during the work.
Below, a Richmond Heights officer shows off the new uniform. The shirt is a cooler, nylon material, and the chest protector is worn outside the shirt, rather than inside.
Police Officer Brown shows off the new uniform RHPD will be wearing starting in September. The new uniform will offer the same protection while keeping them cooler in the hot RH summers. pic.twitter.com/JTypp61Y4A
— Richmond Heights, MO (@RichmondHghtsMO) August 21, 2018
On 6/24/18, these lifeguards and Maplewood EMS crew saved a pool visitor at the Maplewood Family Aquatic Center. We greatly appreciate your efforts!! pic.twitter.com/aitJaHCEZS
— Richmond Heights, MO (@RichmondHghtsMO) August 21, 2018
IMO many protesters want all of their rights with none of the responsibilities. You know like obey the law. Follow the instructions of police officers.
They follow police instructions and they still get shot, that is why people are protesting. Cops should be held accountable like everyone else.
Not everyone lives in a bubble of privilege and you have to try and talk to others that have different experiences and perspectives to understand where they come from. I recommend that you try it.
So it is okay to throw trash cans and jump on the backs of the police?
Actually over a hundred people were there. Only fifty were able to fit in the council chambers. The overflow filled the hall outside and downstairs. Only a handful of the people there were ones who had received summons. The vast majority were Richmond Heights residents and neighbors who were there to voice their disappointment and dismay in the prosecutorial process being used to suppress freedom of speech.