releases: https://lacyclay.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/clay-requests-federal-investigation-law-enforcement-response-st-louis
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://lacyclay.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/clay-requests-federal-investigation-law-enforcement-response-st-louis | Clay Requests Federal Investigation into Law Enforcement Response to St. Louis Protests | 2017-11-15 | 2017 | 2017-11 | Democrat | House | MO | William Clay | C001049 | lacyclay.house.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri has made a formal request to new United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeffery B. Jenson to launch a federal investigation into alleged unconstitutional practices by St. Louis area local law enforcement agencies in response to protests following the acquittal of former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley in the death of Anthony Lamar Smith. The request from Mr. Clay comes on the heels of a ruling in U.S. 8th District Federal Court in St. Louis earlier today by Judge Catherine Perry that criticized aggressive police crowd control methods and restricted the indiscriminate use of chemical agents against protestors and innocent bystanders. In his letter to U.S. Attorney Jenson, the Congressman said in-part, “I am deeply troubled by the numerous reports and documented allegations of civil rights violations by law enforcement. An investigation into alleged unlawful police actions could be a powerful example of how the federal government ensures justice is administered without bias and an acknowledgment that all rights must be respected. St. Louis is the poster child for the need of federal intervention to address decades of bad police relations that reinforce the decline and erode the trust of police-community relations.” In her order, Judge Perry ruled that, “Police can’t declare an unlawful assembly and enforce it against those engaged in expressive activity unless persons are acting in concert to pose an imminent threat to use force or violence or to violate a criminal law with force or violence.” Judge Perry also prohibited the use of chemical agents such as mace and pepper spray against, "Expressive, non-violent activity without probable cause to make an arrest and without providing clear and unambiguous warnings and an opportunity to heed those warnings.” Read the full text of Congressman Clay’s letter to U.S. Attorney Jensen. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |