Ex-St. Louis Police Officer Found Not Guilty of Murder

A former St. Louis police officer was found not guilty Friday of murdering a black drug suspect after a high-speed car chase and crash, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Jason Stockley was charged last year with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the December 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith. The former officer waved his right to a jury trial. St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson made the decision. Activists pledged disruptive protests ahead of the verdict’s announcement. Prosecutors said Stockley had planned to kill Smith, shooting him five times at close range and then planting a revolver in his car. The officer’s defense, however, said Stockley acted in self-defense.