Around 10 AM, Ferguson Protestors gathered in St. Louis near an old downtown courthouse before marching to police headquarters and occupying the lobby. The demonstrators had come to remind the police department that nothing had changed since the shooting death of Mike Brown and to serve them a list of demands in the form of an “eviction notice.”
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
At Police Headquarters, at Olive and 20th Streets, about 15 protesters went into the lobby with plans to stage a sit-in. Others held signs and chanted outside, “Show me what democracy looks like!” and “Free the people!” and “People united will never be defeated!”
When more protesters tried to rush into the front doors, officers linked arms and grabbed some by the shoulders and pushed them to the ground. Once the crowd backed up, officers used pepper spray, which hit multiple people. For the next half hour, more than a dozen lay on sidewalks as fellow demonstrators flushed their eyes with milk of magnesia or water.
Some were calling today’s demonstration “Occupy the Police Day,” and those who were gathered emphasized their frustration with the lack of reforms. Shelina Ramnarine, 26, was quoted as saying, “What has changed? Can you tell me anything that has actually changed in the way of laws?”
The arrests being reported included a counter-protester shouting racial slurs:
Police had arrested five during the protest, including a counter protester who yelled racial slurs at black demonstrators outside the police department. A police spokeswoman said those arrested will be charged with disrupting the peace and trespassing. The counter protester will also be charged with third degree assault, she said.
According to the Washington Times, demonstrators were still outside the building as of 2:35 PM. The eviction notice that protesters were distributing is embedded below.
(Photos: Copwatch, Bipartisan Report)
