Ex-police officer cleared over murder of black man after saying 'I'm going to kill this motherf*****' before shooting

Hundreds pour onto the streets to protest after verdict is announced

Protesters march after the not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Jason Stockley, (Whitney Curtis/Reuters)

A white former police officer has been found not guilty of the murder of a black man who was fatally shot following a high-speed chase.

The acquittal of Jason Stockley in the death of Anthony Lamar Smith had stirred concerns about possible civil unrest for weeks. Several hundred protesters were marching in the streets of downtown St Louis within hours of the verdict, but only a single arrest had been reported as of midday.

Assistant Circuit Attorney Robert Steele emphasised during the trial last month that police dashboad camera video of the chase captured Mr Stockley saying he was “going to kill this motherf*****, don't you know it.”

Less than a minute later, the officer shot Mr Smith five times. Mr Stockley's lawyer dismissed the comment as “human emotions” uttered during a dangerous police pursuit. The judge wrote that the statement “can be ambiguous depending on the context.”

The case played out not far from the suburb of Ferguson, which was the scene of the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old who was killed by a white police officer. That officer was never charged but eventually resigned.

Mr Stockley, who was charged with first-degree murder, insisted he saw Smith holding a gun and felt he was in imminent danger. Prosecutors said the officer planted a gun in Smith's car after the shooting. The officer asked the case to be decided by a judge instead of a jury.

“This court, in conscience, cannot say that the State has proven every element of murder beyond a reasonable doubt or that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defence,” St Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson wrote in the decision .

The judge declared that he would not be swayed by “partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism.”

St Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said she was disappointed.

“While officer-involved shooting cases are extremely difficult to prevail in court, I believe we offered sufficient evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt” that Mr Stockley intended to kill Smith, Ms Gardner said in a written statement.

Prosecutors objected to the officer's request for a bench trial. The Constitution guarantees that people accused of crimes have a right to have their cases heard “by an impartial jury.” But defendants can also opt to have the verdict rendered by a judge.

Mr Stockley, 36, could have been sentenced to up to life in prison without parole. He left the St. Louis police force in 2013 and moved to Houston.

The case was among several in recent years in which a white officer killed a black suspect. Officers were acquitted in recent police shooting trials in Minnesota, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. A case in Ohio twice ended with hung juries, and prosecutors have decided not to seek a third trial.

Ahead of the verdict, activists in St. Louis threatened civil disobedience if Stockley were acquitted, including possible efforts to shut down highways. Barricades went up around police headquarters, the courthouse where the trial was held and other potential protest sites in late August.

Fears of unrest prompted several downtown businesses to send employees home early, including two of the biggest, Wells Fargo Advisors and Nestle Purina PetCare. U.S. Bank closed six branches. Some schools closed early and postponed events scheduled for Friday.

Protester efforts at civil disobedience were largely unsuccessful. When several demonstrators tried to rush onto Interstate 64, they were blocked on an entrance ramp by police cars and officers on bikes. When they tried to enter the city's convention centre, the doors were locked.

The Rev. Clinton Stancil, a protest leader, said the acquittal was shocking but not surprising.

“It's a sad day in St Louis, and it's a sad day to be an American,” Rev. Stancil said.

One man was arrested for damaging a police vehicle. There were also scattered reports of protesters attacking journalists, authorities said.

The St. Louis area has a history of unrest in similar cases, including after Mr Brown's death, when protests, some of them violent, erupted.

In Mr Smith's case, the encounter began when Mr Stockley and his partner tried to corner Mr Smith in a fast-food restaurant parking lot after seeing what appeared to be a drug deal. Mr Stockley testified that he saw what he believed was a gun, and his partner yelled “gun!” as Smith backed into the police SUV twice to get away.

Stockley's attorney, Neil Bruntrager, argued that Mr Smith, a 24-year-old parole violator with previous convictions for gun and drug crimes, tried to run over the two officers. Mr Stockley fired seven shots as Smith sped away. A chase ensued.

At the end of the chase, Mr Stockley opened fire only when Mr Smith, still in his car, refused commands to put up his hands and reached along the seat “in the area where the gun was,” Mr Bruntrager said. Mr Stockley said he climbed into Smith's car and found a revolver between the center console and passenger seat.

But prosecutors questioned why Stockley dug into a bag in the back seat of the police SUV before returning to Mr Smith's car, contending the gun was a potential plant.

Mr Bruntrager said his ex-officer client was relieved and would seek to rebuild his life. “It'™s been a long road for him,” Mr Bruntrager said.

Associated Press