Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The protests began on Friday over the acquittal of former police officer Jason Stockley
More than 80 people have been arrested in the US city of St Louis during a third night of violent protests over the acquittal of a police officer who shot dead a black man.
Jason Stockley, 36, was cleared on Friday of murdering Anthony Lamar Smith, 24, who was fatally shot after a police pursuit in 2011.
Daytime protests have been non-violent, but tensions have escalated overnight.
St Louis Police said some officers had chemicals and rocks thrown at them.
Their injuries were described as “minor or moderate” and the perpetrators as a “group of criminals”.
“Today we saw again the vast majority of protestors are non-violent,” St Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said.
“But for the third day in a row the days have been calm but the nights have been destructive.”
The protests began on Friday immediately after the court verdict. Weekend concerts by the Irish rock band U2 and British artist Ed Sheeran were cancelled due to security concerns.
Mr Smith was a new father and engaged to be married when he was killed on 20 December 2011.
The St Louis Metropolitan Police Department initially deemed the killing justifiable.
Mr Stockley left the police department and moved to Texas in August 2013.
But the investigation continued and he was charged last year after prosecutors cited unspecified new evidence.
Mr Stockley and his partner said they believed they had seen Mr Smith engaging in a drug deal outside a restaurant.
Police dashcam video and surveillance footage showed Mr Smith reversing his car into the police vehicle twice during his attempt to drive off.
After a three-minute high-speed chase, Mr Stockley told his partner, who was in the driver’s seat, to ram Mr Smith’s car.
Dashcam video from the police cruiser recorded him saying he was “going to kill this [expletive]”.
Mr Stockley then ran to Mr Smith’s window and fired five shots, hitting him each time.
His defence team argued the recording could not prove intent and Mr Stockley testified in court that he could not remember making such a statement.
The case has inflamed racial tensions in St Louis, which has one of the highest murder rates in the US.
Rioting erupted in 2014 in nearby Ferguson, Missouri after the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown.
BBC