As civil rights protests over the acquittal of killer cop Jason Stockley continue to roil St. Louis, police are stepping up their response by using controversial methods of crowd control.
One elderly woman was subject to such methods just last night–and the incident was caught on tape.
Wearing a red blouse and a white skirt, the woman can be seen protesting the Stockley verdict as a throng of black-suited riot cops surge toward her and a few other protesters.
The woman and police appear to exchange words as contact is made. What happens next is as quick as it is shocking.
An officer can be seen grabbing the elderly woman’s left hand or wrist and then pulling her towards a fiberglass police shield. This combination of physical factors knocks the woman off balance. She stumbles and that same cop launches her forward, slamming her directly into the arms of another protester as she falls backwards into the pavement.
The other protester–who is also wearing black–attempts to shelter the elderly woman, but a different riot cop shoves him aside using their shield and a head-butt-like maneuver.
The woman is then trampled by multiple cops as her would-be protector is forced away and pepper-sprayed along with two others.
As the video pulls out for a moment to concentrate on the altercation between protesters and police, no fewer than four members of the St. Louis riot squad walk over the woman. Eventually, two cops rip the woman off the ground and shove her again, this time into the waiting arms of arresting officers.
The video pulls away once more as the woman is led away in handcuffs.
LawNewz reached out to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department via phone and email for comment on the apparent use of excessive force. This post will be updated if and when a response is received.
[image via screengrab; video courtesy Fox2now]
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