St. Louis to pay $5.2 million after mass arrests in 2017

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The city of St. Louis will pay a total of nearly $5.2 million for police officers’ actions during a 2017 protest over the acquittal of an officer in the death of a Black man. A class action lawsuit claimed the protesters’ rights were violated when officers surrounded and arrested everyone in the area. They were protesting the acquittal of former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley in the shooting death of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith. Under a proposed class action settlement filed last week, the city would pay $4.91 million to 84 people. Three others, who filed individual lawsuits, have settled for $85,000 each.