Author: Jim Salter
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Protesters make good on threat to disrupt St. Louis business
ST. LOUIS — When a former police officer was acquitted in the fatal shooting of a black suspect, protesters vowed to show their disdain by disrupting business in downtown St. Louis. They quickly succeeded. The unrest that followed Friday’s ruling closed large corporate offices, shut down restaurants and bars and even forced U2 to call…
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Police arrest more than 80 amid violent St. Louis protests
ST. LOUIS — Hundreds of riot police mobilized in downtown St. Louis overnight, arresting more than 80 people and seizing weapons amid reports of property damage and vandalism following another day of peaceful protests over a former police officer’s acquittal in the killing of a black man. The arrests late Sunday came after demonstrators ignored…
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St. Louis braces for more protests over cop’s acquittal
ST. LOUIS — Hundreds of people protesting the acquittal of a white former St. Louis police officer in the fatal shooting of black man marched for hours in mostly peaceful demonstrations, until a broken window at the mayor’s home and escalating tensions led riot police to lob tear gas to disperse the crowds. For weeks,…
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New ‘Blue Lives Matter’ laws raise concerns among activists
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Following a spike in deadly attacks on police, more than a dozen states have responded this year with “Blue Lives Matter” laws that come down even harder on crimes against law enforcement officers, raising concern among some civil rights activists of a potential setback in police-community relations. The new measures build…
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Fast-acting paramedic rescues baby alive from submerged SUV
ST. LOUIS — A fast-acting paramedic dove into the frigid water of an Illinois lake where a SUV was submerged on Thursday and found an infant floating inside, then administered CPR on the hood and swam the child to shore, authorities said. The baby is expected to make a full recovery. But Thursday was still…
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Deadly storm in Midwest sounded like ‘explosion of glass’
ST. LOUIS — A deadly spring-like storm that one Illinois resident described as sounding like “an explosion of glass” damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes in that state and others, blew cars off a major Missouri highway and forced people in an Arkansas town to huddle for safety in a high school. Tornadoes were blamed…
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Texas, Missouri, officers shot in ambushes
A police officer has been fatally shot in San Antonio, Texas, and another in St. Louis was shot in the face but is expected to survive, in what authorities are calling the latest in a series of target attacks on law enforcement. The San Antonio detective was writing out a traffic ticket when he was…
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AP Interview: Michael Brown’s mom’s book recalls death, life
ST. LOUIS — Lezley McSpadden was taking a cigarette break from her grocery store job when a friend called to say someone had been shot in the street near Canfield Green Apartments in Ferguson. Within minutes, her cellphone rang again. It was a family member declaring the victim was McSpadden’s 18-year-old son, Michael Brown. The…
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Watch: Ferguson chief apologizes in video to Michael Brown family
ST. LOUIS — The Missouri police chief whose officer fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old last month released a video Thursday apologizing to the family and the community, saying Michael Brown’s body remained on the street for too long after he was killed. The video featuring Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson was released by a public…
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Missouri man chronicles losses on WWII submarines
ST. LOUIS — Serving aboard an American submarine was one of the most dangerous assignments in World War II, with nearly 1 in 5 crew members losing their lives somewhere in the ocean depths. Paul Wittmer of suburban St. Louis has spent years working to ensure that those men — more than 3,600 sailors —…