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Updated list of protest demands: St. Louis mayor's resignation, dropping charges against protesters

Updated at 9:25 p.m. with details from protest — Activists put forth an updated list of demands Thursday, including that new St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson resign. But Thomas Harvey, the head of ArchCity Defenders, told St. Louis Public Radio that the main thing protesters want is simple: “Stop killing us.”

Later in the evening, a group of protesters returned to Washington Avenue, close to where mass arrests were made on Sept. 17, sparking three lawsuits against the city. After protesters surrounded a police car for a few minutes, yelling at the officers inside, a line of police in riot gear showed up. The group eventually moved on, and the protest ended after about two hours, with no arrests.

The list of demands, headlined as “The People’s Demands,” were presented at a town-hall meeting at Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis. Treasurer Tishaura Jones; state Rep. Bruce Franks, D-St. Louis; 15th Ward Alderwoman Megan Ellyia-Green; and 5th Ward Committeeman Rasheen Aldridge took questions from the audience.

Thedemandsfollow nearly two weeks of demonstrations in the wake of the Sept. 15 acquittal of former St. Louis officer Jason Stockley in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith. Smith was black, Stockley is white. 

The list of demands handed out at the Sept. 28, 2017, town hall.
The list of demands handed out at the Sept. 28, 2017, town hall.

Franks said the protests are meant to “disrupt … affect the economy.” And Jones, who narrowly lost the Democratic mayoral primary to Krewson in March, addressed why she’s rarely out with the large groups of protesters.

“Just because you don’t see me in the streets, doesn’t mean I’m not doing the work,” she said. “Everybody has a role to play in this movement.”

The full list of demands, some of which already have been relayed, are:

  • Auditing the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department,
  • The resignation of Interim Police Chief Larry O’Toole,
  • Removing of Judge Timothy Wilson, who acquitted Stockley,
  • Creating stricter use-of-force policies,
  • Engaging the public in the process to find a new police chief,
  • Dropping charges against protesters,
  • Releasing protesters who are arrested on their own recognizance,
  • Abolishing cash bail in St. Louis,
  • Closing the Medium Security Institute, known as the Workhouse,
  • Removing the Missouri Highway Patrol from temporary duty on St. Louis’ roads,
  • The resignation of Krewson
  • The firing of Jeff Roorda, the business manager and de facto spokesman for the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association


The handout also said activists don’t support Proposition P, a half-cent sales tax increase to help increase officers’ salaries that will be on the Nov. 7 ballot.Follow Maria and Willis on Twitter: @radioaltman@WillisRArnold

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

A symbolic empty chair is set aside for Mayor Lyda Krewson, who recently announced and then cancelled a series of town hall meetings.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
A symbolic empty chair is set aside for Mayor Lyda Krewson, who recently announced and then cancelled a series of town hall meetings.
Protesters gather at Washington and Tucker in downtown St. Louis following the People's Town Hall event.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
Protesters gather at Washington and Tucker in downtown St. Louis following the People's Town Hall event.
Activists block the camera of Sgt. Brian Rossomanno, inside his police vehicle, as they protest on Washington Ave. in St. Louis.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
Activists block the camera of Sgt. Brian Rossomanno, inside his police vehicle, as they protest on Washington Ave. in St. Louis.
Protesters walk down Olive Street in downtown St. Louis after the People's Town Hall event.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
Protesters walk down Olive Street in downtown St. Louis after the People's Town Hall event.

Altman came to St. Louis Public Radio from Dallas where she hosted All Things Considered and reported north Texas news at KERA. Altman also spent several years in Illinois: first in Chicago where she interned at WBEZ; then as the Morning Edition host at WSIU in Carbondale; and finally in Springfield, where she earned her graduate degree and covered the legislature for Illinois Public Radio.
Maria Altman
Maria is a reporter at St. Louis Public Radio, specializing in business and economic issues. Previously, she was a newscaster during All Things Considered and has been with the station since 2004. Maria's stories have been featured nationally on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition, as well as on Marketplace.
Willis Ryder Arnold is an arts and culture reporter for St. Louis Public Radio. He has contributed to NPR affiliates, community stations, and nationally distributed radio programs, as well as Aljazeera America, The New York Times blogs, La Journal de la Photographie, and LIT Magazine. He is a graduate of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and a recipient of the Society of Professional Journalist’s award for Radio In-Depth Reporting.