Photo by Robert Cohen, Florissant police officers arrest a protester while officers were confiscating painting equipment across the street from the police department on Sunday, June 21, 2020.
Photo by Robert Cohen, Protesters are hit with chemical spray from police officers after they arrested a man in the street while they were guarding the Florissant Police Department during a demonstration on Sunday, June 21, 2020. Louis County accounts for about 27% of Missouri's coronavirus cases, but it makes up less than one-sixth of the state's population.About 20 school districts in the St. Louis region have already announced plans for all-virtual instruction.More than half of COVID-19 test results reported to St. Louis officials are more than two weeks old, Mayor Lyda Krewson said. Photo by Robert Cohen, Florissant police officers arrest a protester while officers were confiscating painting equipment across the street from the police department on Sunday, June 21, 2020. Two arrested outside Florissant police department over painting 'Black Lives Matter' on road Photo by Robert Cohen, A police officer removed a banner that said 'Closed due to Injustice' on the covered message board at the Florissant Police Department on Sunday, June 21, 2020. Jason is the politics correspondent for St. Louis Public Radio. Numerous objects were thrown at the officers during the protest.
Photo by Robert Cohen, Protesters are hit with chemical spray from police officers after they arrested a man in the street while they were guarding the Florissant Police Department during a demonstration on Sunday, June 21, 2020. Protesters had just started re-painting 'Black Lives Matter' on Lindbergh Boulevard when officers came out of the station and began taking their rollers and paint cans. Photo by Robert Cohen, Florissant police officers carry away a protester after being arrested while officers were confiscating painting equipment across the street from the police department on Sunday, June 21, 2020.
There was a problem saving your notification. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, FLORISSANT — You can chant “Black Lives Matter” in Florissant, but you’d better not paint it in the middle of North Lindbergh Boulevard.Following multiple warnings Sunday night, police arrested two people after a few protesters started to paint “Black Lives Matter” in the street for the third time.“We are trying to send a message that Black lives matter, so instead of sending police in riot gear over here why don’t they try a dialogue and listen to what we are asking?” said Tina Richards, 57, of Cahokia, who was among the 50 to 70 protesters outside police headquarters on Sunday.Similar efforts to paint the slogan in public are happening in cities around the world, including near the White House in Washington.The slogan was first painted on Friday, then painted over the next day at the direction of the city’s streets department, according to police spokesman Steve Michael. "The social media post concluded, "The Florissant Police Department continues to recognize individuals’ rights to PEACEFULLY protest, but unfortunately the peaceful protesters’ message is continuing to be stolen by aggressive individuals in the protest crowds. Photo by Robert Cohen, A protester talks to a line of police officers in front of the Florissant Police Department during a demonstration on Sunday, June 21, 2020. The detective driving the SUV, Joshua L. Smith, has since been fired from the department and charged with assault.Bishop Derrick Robinson of the Kingdom church in north St. Louis called the Florissant gatherings “the ministry of presence.”“We just want to be treated fairly like everybody else,” said Margaret Morrow, 75, of Black Jack, who was among the group on Sunday.Donna Miller, 69, a retired chemist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was walking her dog Pookie on Sunday and said she agreed with the protesters about unfair treatment by police.“Florissant is known for being brutal to offenders,” she said. Protesters chanted and held signs reading “convict Joshua Smith,” “police accountability now” and “who do you protect?” Some people repainted the words “Black Lives Matter” on North Lindbergh Boulevard, in front of the police department. Photo by Robert Cohen, Florissant police officers arrest a protester while officers were confiscating painting equipment across the street from the police department on Sunday, June 21, 2020. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Robert Cohen, Florissant police officers carry away a protester after being arrested while officers were confiscating painting equipment across the street from the police department on Sunday, June 21, 2020. Published June 24, 2020 at 5:30 PM CDT