Police Brutality

Dustin Boone was found guilty of aiding and abetting the deprivation of Officer Luther Hall’s civil rights.

Advocates say the case puts a spotlight on how ill-prepared police are when encountering someone with a mental disability.

A week after the Minneapolis jury’s verdict, Black people in the St. Louis region are struggling to reconcile a brief moment of relief with painful reminders that police continue to use deadly force against Black people. They’re also seeking ways to heal from generational trauma — through therapy, yoga, meditation and spending time outdoors.

St. Louis-area activists are hopeful that a Minneapolis jury will find former officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the death of George Floyd last spring. But community leaders say they're bracing for the verdict. Emotions are high in St. Louis and across the nation because juries often acquit white officers charged with killing Black people.

Activists hope the data will attract more attention and action on issues of police brutality and the need for reform.

Black St. Louisans are appalled at what they saw at the U.S. Capitol last week, when a largely white mob forced its way past police to try to stop Congress from certifying the election of President-elect Joe Biden. They couldn't miss how police officers did not aggressively counter white rioters and how that contrasted with how officers treat Black people at demonstrations for Black lives.

In the past few months, Black therapists have seen a growing number of African American clients. Many are coming in to discuss the lingering trauma of police brutality and racism, St. Louis psychologist Rimiko Thomas said.

Police arrested 17 people for failing to disperse during a protest in St. Charles Friday night.The "Good Trouble" protest was held in memory of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a champion of the civil rights movement who died July 17.The protest began near the intersection of Lombard and Beale streets, located in the Streets of St. Charles, at around 7:30 p.m. The St. Charles Police Department approached the group and offered assistance with traffic control, police said.Officers made arrests a few hours later.

On her good days, 51-year-old Sharon Morrow is out the door pretty early, helping to get food and water to homeless St. Louisans. And for Morrow, who is disabled and also a breast cancer survivor, April 14, 2019, started out as one of those days where she felt healthy enough to do the work. But as St. Louis police officers began arresting a man outside City Hall that afternoon, she started filming. Soon, Morrow herself would be arrested — and in a lawsuit filed last Friday, the ACLU of Missouri alleges it was retaliation for her First Amendment activities.

Suriyya Lawrence really wants to be a police officer.But the 17-year-old rising high school senior from Jennings has been getting more doubtful looks and…