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Over 80 protesters arrested in St. Louis after white cop’s acquittal

Dozens of people were arrested in St. Louis over the weekend while protesting a white police officer’s acquittal in the fatal shooting of a black man.

St. Louis police officers said more than 80 people were arrested Sunday during the third day of protests over the acquittal of Jason Stockley, 36, a former St. Louis police officer who killed 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011.

He was the latest cop to be acquitted of murder — despite video evidence that captured him saying he would kill Smith before shooting him.

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The protests began soon after St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson acquitted Smith on Friday morning, and demonstrators continued to march over the weekend, chanting slogans like, “This is what democracy looks like,” and, “We don’t see no riot here, why are you in riot gear?”

Most of the demonstrations were peaceful, though some turned violent on Friday and Saturday night. Police in riot gear used pepper spray against demonstrators and arrested those who defied orders to disperse.

On Sunday night officers were reportedly heard chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!” — a phrase normally used by people protesting police violence.

Related: Inside the first database that tracks America’s criminal cops