(ANTIMEDIA) — Intense protests broke out in downtown St. Louis Friday after a former police officer was acquitted in the 2011 death of unarmed 24-year-old Lamar Smith, who the officer shot five times after a car chase. St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson found Jason Stockley not guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, which caused thousands of people to flood the streets of St. Louis to protest the verdict.

The chaotic scene played out not far from Ferguson, Missouri, where a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, another unarmed black man, in 2014. After months of unrest, the officer, Darren Wilson, was not indicted, a decision that sparked additional nationwide protests. Wilson eventually resigned. Several other cops have also been acquitted in recent police shooting trials in Oklahoma, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

As night came on Friday, St. Louis Police warned that protests were “no longer considered peaceful” and instructed local residents to avoid the area. As of 2:26 a.m. local time, 32 people have been arrested and ten officers have been injured. Some protesters were seen carrying rifles on the streets — which is legal in the state of Missouri — but no reports have been made of weapons being discharged.



Protesters marched all night chanting, “No justice, no peace,” and “If you kill our kids, we’ll kill your economy.” For weeks, many have feared the potential civil unrest that might follow a not guilty verdict in the death of Lamar Smith. Those concerned prompted several businesses in downtown St. Louis to close early.

Police declared the protest an “unlawful assembly” at 10:08 p.m. local time, tweeting, “Those refusing to leave are subject to arrest.”

“I’m proud of these people protesting,” Damone Smith, a 52-year-old electrician, told the Post-Dispatch. “If you look like me, then you feel like there is no other way to express yourself in this kind of verdict. Time and time again, African-American men are killed by police, and nobody is held accountable.”

Here are 11 chaotic scenes from the St. Louis protests that prove nothing has changed since Ferguson, not least the militarized police presence that became a national issue after the 2014 protests:

Watch the lady wearing red in the bottom right of the screen. Police using pepper spray on protesters marching after the Stockley ruling pic.twitter.com/XF16yxDQqg — FOX2now (@FOX2now) September 15, 2017

#STLVerdict police cracking down right now, it's like they're some sort of right wing death squad. pic.twitter.com/121virRMBA — Banastre Tarleton (@Tarleton_exe) September 16, 2017

Police deploy tear gas near Mayor Krewson's home in St Louis.pic.twitter.com/FqIxmMJi0z — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 16, 2017

We're still trapped inside a synagogue pic.twitter.com/fkXpfgo0gd — Search4Swag (@search4swag) September 16, 2017

StLouis #Protesters arrested after #JasonStockley verdict. Protestors injured officers w/ bricks and damaged cars. pic.twitter.com/ZjddpJmXe8 — Drew Liquerman ?? (@DrewLiquerman) September 16, 2017

Protesters took to St Louis streets after judge delivered not guilty verdict in officer-involved shooting case. More https://t.co/GTRA37jIrf pic.twitter.com/hd84hybHzz — NBC News (@NBCNews) September 16, 2017

Protest in the Central West End, St Louis against the Stockley verdict. #StLVerdict pic.twitter.com/ULxFwS3jTM — Joshua F. McMichael (@jmcmichael) September 16, 2017

You can read the verdict in the court document by clicking here.

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