The businesses where windows or glass doors were broken out during protests cleaned up debris Saturday to get back to business in the Central West End.
At leat a half-dozen businesses and the St. Louis Public Library’s Schlafly Branch suffered damage Friday night when protests moved to the neighborhood. The protests began peacefully on Friday morning after a judge ruled that Stockley, a former St. Louis police officer, was not guilty of murder in the 2011 on-duty shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith.
But later in the day, protesters began throwing bottles and other objects at police officers, business windows were shattered and nine police officers were injured. The home of Mayor Lyda Krewson, who lives in the Central West End, also was damaged.
Police made 32 arrests but by late Saturday afternoon had released no names or information on charges.
The library reopened at midday after the staff went “literally… book by book” to check for glass fragments, said library director Waller McGuire. He arrived at the library at 2 a.m. Saturday.
He said it was “upsetting, but it’s encouraging” to have seen people step in to help the library staff clean up. “The public library is one of the best parts of democracy,” he said. “I don’t think this was because we’re a library.”
Outside Golden Grocer, two volunteers swept broken glass at about 8:15 a.m. Other businesses with broken windows include Culpeppers, La Petite Spa, BBQ Saloon restaurant and the Fauxgerty clothing store.
One employee who declined to give his name or workplace for fear of retaliation from his boss said he saw it was teenagers, not adults, who lit a nearby Dumpster fire and broke windows of the restaurant where he works. He said adult protesters were shouting at the teenagers to stop the vandalism.
“(Grown) people know that that doesn’t do anything to change (expletive),” he said, referring to the breaking of the windows. “It was just kids acting childish. The people who do the vandalism don’t care about the message.”
Some businesses received cleanup aid from strangers who felt impelled to help after watching the news. Jason, a 42-year-old Maplewood man who declined to give his last name, worked with a colleague Saturday morning to sweep up all the remaining glass outside a restaurant on Euclid Avenue that had a smashed window.
He said he showed up because he upset at seeing people, from news reporters to Central West End residents, walk by or gape at the broken windows, say “that’s terrible,” and do nothing. The Central West End was rife Saturday morning with couples and singles walking their dogs, running, grabbing coffee or lounging on the patio.
“If my kids lived around here, I wouldn’t want them hurt by broken glass,” he said.
Like other volunteers, employees and passerby in the Central West End said, he said it’s important to distinguish the people wrecking businesses from the protesters.
“The people who are protesting, it’s about making a change. The people who are vandalizing, it’s about breaking the law,” he said.
Adrian Castillo, 29, was helping his wife, Lauren, inspect the business she manages, the Lemon Salon. They found a “SMS” graffiti painted above the salon’s door, but no broken glass.
A south St. Louis resident, Castillo said watching the aftermath of the Stockley verdict was like watching St. Louis descend into a similar kind of chaos that accompanied the aftermath of the police shooting of Michael Brown.
“It’s unfortunate. A man lost his life. Just unfortunate all around,” Castillo said, referring to Smith. “Now our city’s in turmoil again. I don’t know what the answer is. Hopefully, we come out stronger and better.”
Lewis Reed, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, issued a statement Saturday in response to the overnight destruction.
“As the night went on, I was disappointed to learn about the attacks on the mayor’s home, members of the media and on law enforcement,” Reed said. “The violence and destruction that occurred last night in the Central West End is not only unproductive, but it is also distracting. The thousands of peaceful protesters who were making their voices heard are now being grouped together with actions of a smaller, misguided group of individuals. But, we cannot let that tarnish the message made so clear yesterday by so many people from so many different walks of life. This city has to change.”