PHOTO BY MABEL SUEN

Rise Coffee House, located in the city's Grove neighborhood, has signed a letter in support of those protesting the Stockley verdict.

A group of St. Louis business owners has a few words for those involved in protesting the acquittal of former city police officer Jason Stockley : We're with you.In a letter co-signed by 46 business owners and a host of other individuals, the group makes it clear exactly whose side they are on in the protests that have gripped the city, saying they stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and and the protesters as a whole. They write, "The damage that we have or potentially could sustain during these demonstrations is a small price to pay in the fight for justice."The letter also takes aim at the police response to the protests."We see police escalating tensions on the streets and then denying responsibility for the results," they write. "We see our innocent patrons caught up, brutalized and arrested in the Central West End , Loop and downtown. When media is arrested for doing their jobs, how do we tell our staff they are safe doing theirs?"It is not at all clear that police have our best interests at heart when they are preoccupied with macho attempts to 'own' the streets . Frankly, we have reason to wonder if we have more to fear from the police officers than from a small handful of vandals."Those co-signing include owners of Left Bank Books, Handlebar, Rise Coffee House, Flowers & Weeds, MoKaBe's, STL-Style and Seed Sprout Spoon. Golden Grocer, which had a window broken during the protests in the Central West End on September 15, signed. So did Chris Sommers of Pi Pizzeria, who earlier issued a manifesto of his own after being targeted by the St. Louis County police union.The letter is the work of Eliza Coriell, who owns the Crow's Nest in Maplewood. Coriell says she saw people commenting about the damage done to small businesses by the protests and others asking about how the small business community felt about the ongoing disruption . She decided to write about her perspective — and then, using social media, began to circulate the result on Friday.She had to start again Saturday — the original website she was using to gather co-signers had some server issues, she says. But she started again, and rapidly found people willing to sign on. "I just put it on social media, and it took off from there," Coriell says.Some were willing to use their own names, some the names of their businesses and some were willing to use both. All 46, Coriell says, are business owners. Then they're also joined by a list of 56 individuals who co-signed on the statement but do not personally own business.We've listed the business owner co-signing the letter below. To read the letter in its entirety, or to sign on as an individual or a business owner, go to its website Aaron Johnson - RISE Coffee HouseAlicia HammAmy MillerAngie Campbell - Yoga Source of St. LouisAnnie KilleenBobby Duebelbeis - Parlour.ioBrad Jackson - Roughneck Beard Companychris herman - Abundant Vintage Jewelry (online & home based)Chris Renteria - Mooshido ProductionsChris Sommers - Pi PizzeriaCindy Betz - LGBT Counseling St. Louis, LLCConnie - Every Body MassageCyndi DemickEliza Coriell - the Crow's NestErin Wiles - Seed Sprout SpoonEssential Oil STLFelicia Pulliam - St. Louis Renewed LLCGeorge Paul Kafalenos - Silver Wing StudioHeather Hirning - LemonHelen Petty - Chop ShopJ P World MarketJarek Steele - Left Bank BooksJennifer Spencer - Topical SolutionsJesse Sieger-Walls - Urban Roost, LLCJessica Bell - Bell Brown Medical instituteJohn LaRico - Golden GrocerJulie Sommer - Sommer Property InvestmentsKenny Snarzyk - the Crow's NestKimberly Patterson - Smokin' MonkeyLawrence White - Southside Barber ShopLesley Sieger-Walls - Urban Roost, LLCLinda Brauer - nomadesLindsay Pattan - Pattan & Co., LLCMargaret Howard - Margaret Howard, LCSWMason Bell - Bellinkoff PropertiesMatthew Dunn - dunn effectsMeghan Pinson - My Two Cents EditingMichelle BarronMo Costello - MoKaBe's CoffeehouseNancy Nix-RiceRoxanne Krummenacher - Practicing Yoga StudioSarah Trone - Flowers and Weeds (co-owner)Shane MaddenSTL-StyleTatyana Telnikova - HandleBar & PropagandaTodd Davis PhotographyWhitney Boe - Imaginal Cells, Inc.Will Delano - Engelbreit Art & Design