WATCH: St Louis Driver Runs Over Anti-Police Brutality Protestors
A St. Loius man sped through a group of Black Lives Matters protestors in a large SUV Thursday. The driver moved rapidly through the crowd as he honked his horn, which led protestors to quickly scatter throughout the streets of St. Louis suburb Kirkwood.
The protest was organized to raise awareness for the trial of St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, who was acquitted on charges of intentionally killing Anthony Lamar Smith. Some protestors held up a large banner that read "Convict Killer Cops #JasonStockley," whereas many others raised signs that said "Black Lives Matter." All protestors unified in chant, saying, "Stand up! Fight back!"
The gathering appeared to be under control until the driver grew impatient of waiting in protest traffic and drove off into the crowd. The incident occurred moments after the driver spoke with a few demonstrators about why they were protesting, which caused him to remain in traffic.
"I got a job to get to brother to support you for standing out here, okay? You are screwing up people making money right now to support you sitting here," the driver said to a few protestors. "Why don't you let the court system handle this? You're disrupting other people's lives to get to where they need to go."
"That's the point of a protest. That's why anyone has ever protested since the beginning of protests," a protestor said in response.
The driver responded, "I'm a white male living in a black community. Suck my d---. I am the white guy, alright?"
The driver also spoke with nearby law enforcement ahead of plowing through the crowd. The man, whose identity remains unknown, said, "Nah, I want in this" in response to an officer's undistinguishable comment.
Local law enforcement intends to investigate the incident, according to CBS affiliate KMOV. The organization does not have plans to reveal the identity of the SUV driver and whether he is subject to face charges. No injuries appeared to be sustained from the attack.
A representative of the Kirkwood Police Department (KPD) did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.
This isn't the first time a driver has plowed into protestors. The protests held Aug. 12 against white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, who was fatally run over by a driver. A driver in Ferguson, Missouri, also ran over demonstrators who were blocking I-70.
Black Lives Matter protestors were run over by a driver in St. Louis Thursday, a police officer patrols during a protest in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 09, 2016. Photo: Getty Images
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