St. Louis County (IL) Police ordered protesters at the St. Louis Galleria to disperse Saturday afternoon — and when the protesters didn't, the officers began making arrests. Twenty-two people were ultimately detained, county police say.
Before police moved in, the protesters shouted the now-familiar refrain of "no justice, no profit," which has featured prominently in protests in and around malls and shopping centers in the St. Louis area in the last week, reports the Riverfront Times.
The protests are a reaction to the acquittal of former St. Louis officer Jason Stockley, who had been charged with first-degree murder.
But while last weekend's mall protests concluded without incident, police at the Galleria Saturday quickly became confrontational. About an hour after the protest began, around 1:15 p.m., the St. Louis County Police Department says that officers gave orders to disperse. County officers and those from Richmond Heights, where the mall is located, then began arresting those who did not as stores locked down — sometimes with customers inside.
County police noted in a series of tweets that no one has the right to be in a shopping mall after being asked to leave.
The county police said one officer had been transported to the hospital with a back injury and that two protesters had suffered "minor injuries."
