A St. Louis Rams executive apologized (Update: he denies apologizing, see below) to police on behalf of the team's front office for players' use of the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" gesture before Sunday's game—a gesture that left St. Louis cops demanding punishment for the players.


The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports tonight that Rams Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Demoff called St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar to apologize for the players acting "in a way that minimized the outstanding work that police officers and departments carry out each and every day." Here's the text of an email Belmar sent to police officers, as acquired by the P-D:

Members of the Department, I received a very nice call this morning from Mr. Kevin Demoff of the St. Louis Rams who wanted to take the opportunity to apologize to our department on behalf of the Rams for the "Hands Up" gesture that some players took the field with yesterday. Mr. Demoff clearly regretted that any members of the Ram's [sic] organization would act in a way that minimized the outstanding work that police officers and departments carry out each and every day. My impression of the call was that it was heartfelt and I assured him that I would share it with my staff. Thank you for your hard work, ... one night to go. Stay safe. Belmar

Update (10:45 p.m.): The Rams have released their own statement, which seems to contradict the St. Louis County Police:


Update (11:35 p.m.): St. Louis police have sought the last refuge for a scoundrel: the dictionary.