Ferguson police station attacked as St. Louis-area protests turn violent overnight

This story was originally published by St. Louis Public Radio.

Updated 7 a.m. May 31 with police information.

Protesters brought havoc and destruction to Ferguson’s police headquarters and the city’s downtown at the end of a night of protests against police brutality mirrored around the nation Saturday.

The demonstrations and their ensuing vandalism were sparked by the death last week of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer restrained him by kneeling on his neck. Protests began in that city and have since spread across the country.

The demonstrators’ anger, chants, language and destruction are akin to the Black Lives Matter movement’s protests in the same community nearly six years ago when a white Ferguson police officer killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. Eric Garner and Tamir Rice were also killed that year in New York City and Cleveland. Weeks of protests, destruction and heavy police response followed Brown’s death.

Saturday night in Ferguson, the scene was repeated. Several hundred protesters blocked South Florissant Road and occupied the police station parking lot.

“My father, when I was a teenager, he used to tell me how to conduct myself, things that happened to him when he was a child dealing with police matters,” said Ronnie Lotts, 54, from St. Louis. “It’s a shame I have a 19-year -old son and I’m having to have the same conversations with him.”

Lauren Davis came to the protest from Belleville. She said she’s sick of people telling African Americans how they’re supposed to feel.

“How many more?” Davis asked. “Just give me a number and I’ll be happy. I want to know when we’re allowed to be upset about people losing their lives constantly.”

The protest, which began about 6 p.m., was mostly peaceful — at one point before nightfall, several officers joined protesters in taking a knee — until about 10 p.m.

Eventually, protesters used baseball bats to smash the police station glass doors and lobbed volleys of fireworks toward police in the parking lot and into the police station. Police eventually fired pepper spray and smoke grenades toward protesters.

The standoff continued for several hours as protesters threw rocks, broke windows and spray-painted anti-police graffiti. Fires were set in the street and inside at least one store, according to a Post-Dispatch reporter who witnessed it. Looters carried armfuls of merchandise out of the Beauty World store on South Florissant Road.

The city of Ferguson issued a midnight curfew, according to Five On Your Side, though crowds thinned but did not disappear. St. Louis County Police later reported shots being fired but did not announce any injuries from the gunfire. The department said that crowds dispersed shortly before 2 a.m.

County police reported seven officers were injured from the rocks, bottles and fireworks, three officers were taken to the hospital. Police also confirmed evidence of vandalism and evidence that several businesses had been broken into. No arrests have been made.

Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency Saturday night, citing unspecified “civil unrest” throughout the state. In a statement, he said the declaration includes activating the Missouri National Guard and having the Highway Patrol ready to help local authorities.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of George Floyd,” Parson said. We are also saddened by the acts of violence that have transpired across our nation and state in response to this event. At this time we are taking a proactive approach to protect Missouri and its people.”

The protest in Ferguson and marches in Clayton and University City earlier in the day were part of a string of protests nationwide that sprang up this week after a video of a police officer kneeling for several minutes on the neck of Floyd shocked the nation. Floyd could be heard saying he couldn’t breathe and soon died. The officer was fired last week and charged with murder and manslaughter Friday.

Hundreds of people also marched in downtown St. Louis to protest Floyd’s death Friday night. Demonstrators blocked traffic on Interstate 70.

This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 8:27 AM.