St Louis Police Officer Shoots Black Teenager, Sparks Protests
Protesters took to the streets in St. Louis on Wednesday after a police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old. The version of events differs between police and protesters.
[su_center_ad]According to St.Louis Post-Dispatch, police say four pedestrians fled after they were stopped by an off-duty officer on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The officer chased one of the men, later identified as Vonderrick Myers Jr., and claims the teenager jumped out of some bushes, struggled with him, then pulled out a gun and shot at him. The officer says he returned fire, killing Myers.
But several witnesses say Myers was unarmed. “He had a sandwich in his hand, and they thought it was a gun,” Teyonna Myers, the victim’s cousin said.”It’s like Michael Brown all over again.”
The police version, according to the Dispatch:
The teenager had a gun and fired at least three shots at the officer, who returned fire, the chief said. The teenager attempted to fire more but his gun jammed, Dotson said.
The officer fired 17 times, he said. It is unclear how many times the teenager was shot.
Police recovered a 9mm Ruger, he said.
Dotson did not identify the 18-year-old but said he “was no stranger to law enforcement.”
The chief said he is unaware of any video that captured the shooting.
A wildly different version of events:
“My nephew was coming out of a store from purchasing a sandwich. Security was supposedly searching for someone else. They Tased him,” Williams said. “I don’t know how this happened, but they went off and shot him 16 times. That’s outright murder.”
A police spokeswoman said the officer did not have a Taser.
Williams said Myers worked at a warehouse and attended high school.
Lavell Boyd, 47, lives in neighborhood and said he happened upon the scene as he was going to a store on Shaw to pick up a sandwich. Boyd said he heard 14 or 15 shots as he was in his car.
“When I pulled up I saw the cop standing over him (Myers) then he pointed the gun at everyone else telling everyone to get back while he was searching for another clip,” Boyd said.
Boyd said he heard others nearby telling the officer “you killed my friend.”
Relatives say Myers worked in a warehouse and attended high school. “My nephew was coming out of a store from purchasing a sandwich. Security was supposedly searching for someone else. They Tased him,” Jackie Williams, who said he talked with several witnesses, said. “I don’t know how this happened, but they went off and shot him 16 times. That’s outright murder.”
According to nearby resident Lavell Boyd, he heard 14 or 15 shots while on his way to get food at a nearby store. “When I pulled up I saw the cop standing over him (Myers) then he pointed the gun at everyone else telling everyone to get back while he was searching for another clip,” Boyd told the Dispatch.
“16 times”
Buzzfeed writes that Myers was stopped on a “pedestrian check.”
This shooting happened just 12 miles from where Michael Brown was shot and killed at the hands of a police officer.[su_csky_ad]
Image: AP
Tommy6860 October 9th, 2014 at 7:57 am
Here we go again! This time I want to see the ballistic evidence from the supposed gun this teenager had. If he fired at the cop, there will be definitive evidence of this as to where the rounds landed .I’ll admit, only for now, this is a bit different than what happened to Michael Brown, who was clearly unarmed, surrendering and then was murdered.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 8:05 am
These stories vary so much – I’ll hang on to my skepticism from both sides and see how this shakes out. Where the hell are the body/dash cameras?
Skydog2 October 9th, 2014 at 8:16 am
Unfortunately not everyone is taking a wait and see attitude:
from the above link:
“Word of the officer-involved shooting quickly spread across social media, and crowds of angry people began showing up and flooded the streets. The crowd numbered about 300 at its peak. Random gunshots fired by someone near Shaw caused many to scatter. At least two rounds of gunshots were heard near the scene. Several police cars were damaged. A crowd surrounded a police SUV and someone kicked and broke a taillight. Someone in the angry crowd broke out a rear window of a police SUV”
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 9:06 am
I guess they are tired of being lied to, targeted and oppressed. I don’t condone the behavior but I understand it. You can’t dismiss their concerns and outrage, too often we expect those driven to the point of despair to behave in a certain way if they want our support or to be taken seriously. Unfortunately, like most things its a couple of bad apples that make the entire group look bad.
mea_mark October 9th, 2014 at 9:10 am
Well, we need to at least get rid of the bad apples that we can by firing them and taking away their badges. The last thing we need to do is support them by paying them. As for civilians, if the cops weren’t so bad, they probably wouldn’t be so bad either.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 9:36 am
I feel they’ve been driven to it – everyone has a breaking point.
Anomaly 100 October 9th, 2014 at 11:48 am
Case in point: Christopher Dorner.
Rusty Shackleford October 9th, 2014 at 9:16 am
“Wait and see” what? Wait for the cops to finish investigating the cops to tell us if the cops did anything wrong? Give me ONE good reason to trust word out of their mouths, especially when they have been telling bald-faced lies to the public for the past month.
Remember that security footage of Mike Brown “robbing” a store that the cops released on the same day as Darren Wilson’s name? Totally not a blatant attempt at character assassination, right? I mean, the chief of police said he HAD to release it due to FOI requests. Except oops, that sort of stuff is public record, and it turns out NO ONE had ever requested it.
Trust is EARNED.
Tommy6860 October 9th, 2014 at 8:28 am
Wasn’t this cop working privately on is own time? I don’t think cams would have been worn since he was off-duty, that is if there are any on the police force.
R.J. Carter October 9th, 2014 at 8:34 am
Yes. Which only proves that we all have to wear body cams, 24/7.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 8:55 am
🙂
mea_mark October 9th, 2014 at 9:03 am
Maybe it should be mandatory for anyone carrying a gun to wear an active body camera. 2nd amendment lovers may not like it though.
R.J. Carter October 9th, 2014 at 9:50 am
Or mandatory that the gun be built with a camera in it. It would have the two-fold effect of (a) recording the events and (b) improving accuracy.
mea_mark October 9th, 2014 at 10:02 am
Let’s just do both, two cameras, two points of view.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 2:26 pm
This is an excellent idea.
Anomaly 100 October 9th, 2014 at 8:31 am
I’m skeptical as well on both sides. I just wish shooting an assailant in the leg, or tazing them was still a thing.
R.J. Carter October 9th, 2014 at 8:34 am
Only on STARSKY & HUTCH.
Anomaly 100 October 9th, 2014 at 8:39 am
Le sigh. Times sure have changed.
Ray Davis October 9th, 2014 at 9:00 am
LOL your drinking to much kool-aide and watching to much TV
Anomaly 100 October 9th, 2014 at 9:41 am
What?
mea_mark October 9th, 2014 at 9:46 am
Don’t you just love morning trolls?
Anomaly 100 October 9th, 2014 at 10:00 am
If someone wants to come at me, they need to do better than the drinking the ‘Kool-aid” line.
R.J. Carter October 9th, 2014 at 9:49 am
That first Budweiser of the morning is always the best one, isn’t it?
rg9rts October 9th, 2014 at 8:08 am
Does the kid have residue on his hand from firing a gun??
Skydog2 October 9th, 2014 at 8:12 am
Tests should be conclusive whether he shot a gun or not.
whatthe46 October 9th, 2014 at 8:45 am
what worries me is, will the test be an honest test? i have no faith in the police at all.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 8:54 am
I think fudging a test and all the paperwork and people involved is harder than thought – a bigger concern is not having the test performed or some action at the coroner’s (or on the way) that would leave the test results in question. That would be easier to accomplish and not rely on such a large conspiracy.
mea_mark October 9th, 2014 at 9:05 am
Most likely has already occurred. The PD’s are getting better at cover-ups, they are getting plenty of practice.
whatthe46 October 9th, 2014 at 9:48 am
i don’t know about that. remember Kendrick Johnson, his body, when exhumed, was found to have newspaper stuffed inside his body instead of his organs after autopsy.
Skydog2 October 9th, 2014 at 8:11 am
“He had a sandwich in his hand, and they thought it was a gun”
http://i.imgur.com/C3xL1IH.jpg
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 8:52 am
I guess it could have been a pop-tart.
Skydog2 October 9th, 2014 at 9:19 am
I was shocked when I first heard the pop-tart gun story …… then it turned out the boy had numerous other disciplinary problems, he would have been suspended whether he had the “gun” or not.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 9:35 am
It still makes me laugh. We have made school administrations afraid of their own shadow. We need to own that.
fancypants October 9th, 2014 at 7:15 pm
first it was stolen cigars and now its changed to a deadly sandwich ?
whatthe46 October 9th, 2014 at 8:36 am
dare i say “drop gun.” the store clerk will verify he left with a sandwic. who goes in for a sandwich then decide to have a shootout with a cop? does the cop wear a “wilson” arm band? a pedestrian stop? was this off duty cop in plain clothes?
Skydog2 October 9th, 2014 at 8:53 am
“the store clerk will verify he left with a sandwich”
Because everyone knows people with sandwiches never carry guns.
whatthe46 October 9th, 2014 at 9:45 am
so, you wanna stop every black male leaving a sandwich shop to see if he’s carrying?
Skydog2 October 9th, 2014 at 10:52 am
No, I want to stop everyone who shoots at the police …… whether he had a sandwich in his hand is completely irrelevant.
Ray Davis October 9th, 2014 at 8:57 am
Notice these are all Democrat town cities and states
R.J. Carter October 9th, 2014 at 8:58 am
Notice Republicans are pulling ahead in those local races, and getting support of black leadership.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 9:08 am
Not here.
R.J. Carter October 9th, 2014 at 9:12 am
They are in St. Louis.
Porkchop October 9th, 2014 at 10:35 am
Hey Carla. Has that infection cleared up yet? Here’s to hoping so and a reminder: just because you can fit it in there, doesn’t mean you should cram it in with reckless abandon…like all those other times. Have a dandy day, darlin’.
mea_mark October 9th, 2014 at 9:00 am
And it appears the cops doing the shootings are republicans that don’t like minorities. Is this the game you want to play?
Rusty Shackleford October 9th, 2014 at 9:21 am
Maybe because police brutality is a hallmark of institutionalized racism, and as such, is most prominently inflicted on black neighborhoods. Last I checked, Republicans didn’t generally win black neighborhoods for SOME unexplained reason. Might have something to do with the way they always circle the wagons in defense of police brutality and institutionalized racism.
Teddy Simon October 9th, 2014 at 11:01 am
So he shot at him with a sandwich is what witnesses are saying ?
kperk014 October 9th, 2014 at 1:57 pm
Poor kids. Everyone of them just the salt of the earth. Gunned down after attending Church, leaving the library, helping old ladies across the street etc. Innocent and pure as the driven snow. Oh wait, people like that DON’T get shot unless it’s by people like the dude that got shot in st louis.
Anomaly 100 October 9th, 2014 at 5:31 pm
Bullshit.
Carla Akins October 9th, 2014 at 5:47 pm
The comment you left a newsbusters – incredibly offensive. You are not welcome here.
Skydog2 October 9th, 2014 at 3:08 pm
St. Louis Police Chief Col. Sam Dotson said “the suspect ran up a hill, turned and opened fired on the officer, who returned fire and killed the man. Ballistic evidence shows that the teen fired three shots and tried to fire again but his gun jammed”.
R.J. Carter October 9th, 2014 at 5:57 pm
Now they just have to find where those three bullets landed.
Robert Ryan Thompson October 9th, 2014 at 4:18 pm
considering the frequency of these happenings, cops should have a mandatory badge cam while on duty..no more guesswork.
Rory October 9th, 2014 at 4:39 pm
If he don’t have gun shoot residue on him he when they finish with him.
J.r. Perkins October 9th, 2014 at 7:02 pm
yeahhhhhh more reasons to riot and loot and sue for millions….
Miles Jones October 9th, 2014 at 8:36 pm
“They Tased him,” Williams said. “I don’t know how this happened, but they went off and shot him 16 times.”
yeah thats right yall blacks dont know how it happened, the little nigglet probably shot first
mcalleyboy October 9th, 2014 at 10:00 pm
Why should police officers keep taking the mental abuse leveled on them? You don’t see that level of crowd stupidity in other countries, but it’s an American right, big deal, if you don’t like law enforcement then get rid of it, sadly for thugs the general public does want some sort control, video shows just how powerful the voters are when it comes guns, there again you won’t see the level of stupidity that existed in the 70’s when it comes to self protection, we’ve had enough with thugs and slugs.