The Atlantic

Sadism in the St. Louis Police Department

Three cops who expressed an eagerness to brutalize protesters unintentionally targeted the one person likely to get them arrested.
Source: Jim Young / Reuters

Last year, former police officer Jason Stockley was on trial in St. Louis, Missouri, for the shooting death of a black motorist named Anthony Smith.

He was acquitted, sparking street protests.

The St. Louis police activated what it calls its Civil Disobedience Team. Among the cops assigned to it were Dustin Boone, Randy Hays, and Christopher Myers, who sent texts to one another expressing their excitement and glee at the prospect of brutalizing protesters, according to federal prosecutors who reviewed their communications.

“Let’s whoop some ass,”

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