Officer gains innocence for killing young black man, protests in US begin

Protesters have fought the police, which led to the arrest of 13 people. Meanwhile, four officers were injured by the crash.

Hundreds of protesters flooded the streets of Saint Louis and clashed with police after a judge in Missouri acquitted a former white police officer who was accused of killing a coloured person in 2011.

The decision of the previous day, handed down five weeks after the end of a jury-free trial, declares 36-year-old officer Jason Stockley not guilty of first-degree murder, where 24-year-old African Anthony Lamar Smith remained dead.

Smith was shot five times in his car after he tried to escape from Officer Stockley and his colleague on December 20th 2011, claiming he was involved in narcotics trafficking.

Despite the fact that Officer Stockley was heard saying Smith was going to kill him, defence lawyers said the former police officer believed 24-year-old was armed.

Finally, a gun was found in the killing man's car, which prosecutors argued was deployed there by Stockley himself.

The decision prompted a violent wave of protests, where 13 people were arrested and 4 officers were injured. The case has re-opened racial debates in Saint Louis, which has one of the highest murder rates in the United States.

Similar riots erupted in nearby Ferguson in Missouri following the murder of 18-year-old color and unarmed Michael Brown.