ST. LOUIS (AP) – Several members of the St. Louis-area clergy are questioning why it took four years for murder charges to be filed against a former city police officer who fatally shot a suspect.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that representatives of two Baptist organizations, the NAACP and the ACLU on Monday demanded more accountability. Drug suspect Anthony Lamar Smith was killed by then-officer Jason Stockley in December 2011. Stockley was charged earlier this year with first-degree murder.
Stockley told investigators he fired after Smith reached for a gun. Smith’s supporters say the gun was planted.
A video posted by the Post-Dispatch this month included footage from inside the police SUV as Stockley and his partner chased Smith’s car. Court documents say Stockley is heard threatening to kill Smith.