St. Louis police in riot gear broke up a protest that turned rowdy on Sunday night with property damage including broken storefront windows, ordering protesters to disperse and making several arrests.
Demonstrators gathered in central St. Louis for the third straight night to protest the acquittal of former police officer Jason Stockley, 36, of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith, 24.
As it had on Friday and Saturday nights, the protest started peacefully but turned disorderly after dark. Demonstrators broke windows and attempted to block a ramp to an interstate highway, police and witnesses said. Police also reported confiscating weapons including at least one handgun from protesters.
The violence evoked memories of the riots following the 2014 shooting of a black teenager by a white officer in nearby Ferguson, Missouri.
Police confiscated plastic spray bottles containing an unknown chemical that was on officers, who were then decontaminated, police said.
"This is no longer a peaceful protest," St. Louis police said on Twitter, adding that one officer was injured.