In case you all missed the recent reports, former St. Louis, Missouri police officer, Jason Stockley, was found not guilty in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith.

The public outcry and protests immediately started after a judge made his decision. Many fans were shocked to see actor/rapper, Nick Cannon, out there on the front lines, rockin’ a #blackoutNFL Colin Kaepernick jersey, without heavy security and protesting with the people. Lately, Cannon has become not just a talented actor, but a celebrity who is not afraid to use his fame to bring awareness to injustices around the country and to also help those in need, such as what he recently did for hurricane Harvey victims. This wasn’t his first time protesting against police brutality. In addition to making a public statement and donating money, Nick oftentimes chooses to go directly to the people and stand with them as well.

Well lookie who just walked up and joined the #Stockley protest. @NickCannon #stl #stlouis #AnthonyLamarSmith #STLVerdict pic.twitter.com/QhmRGdxxNi

— Anam Siddiq (@anamsiddiq) September 16, 2017

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https://twitter.com/JohnMuhammadJr/status/90925684092348416

The Shady Details

Now, if y’all haven’t heard about why there is so much outrage regarding the murder of Anthony Lamar Smith, here is a quick breakdown of the events that led to former officer Stockley slaughtering him:

1. Ex-officer Jason Stockley, who is Caucasian, claimed he was acting in self defense when he stopped Anthony Lamar Smith, who is African American, after a high speed chase. However, the legal system eventually decided to bring first degree murder charges against him after they found sufficient enough evidence showing otherwise.

2. It later came out in court documents, that as Smith- who was suspected of selling drugs in the area- led Stockley on a high speed chase after being approached by Stockely. Officer Stockley was then reportedly heard saying “I’m going to kill this (expletive), don’t you know it” on the police dash cam footage. One would think that would weigh heavily against his whole self defense claim.

3. It was also revealed that Stockley used his personal AK-47 machine gun to kill Smith, which he was not authorized to use as a registered police weapon.

4. After shooting Smith, Stockley then went to the backseat of the police car to place his machine gun on the back seat. As Smith lay on the ground dying from the four gunshot wounds Stockley administered, Stockely was seen on police dash cam footage and other footage, returning back and forth to the police car four times to dig through a duffle bag for unknown items and for other unknown reasons. It was later revealed in court that the gun Stockley claims he thought Smith was going for just before shooting him “in self defense,” only ended up having Stockley’s DNA on it (not Anthony Lamar Smith’s), as did the bag of heroin officer Stockley claimed to have found in Smith’s car at the time as well. See what was reported below…

Via St. Louis Post Dispatch: Once police pulled Smith’s body out, Stockley climbed into the Buick’s driver side. Police reports say Stockley’s DNA — but not Smith’s — was on the .38-caliber Taurus revolver police said was found in Smith’s car. Stockley told investigators he unloaded the revolver as a safety precaution. Police also found in the car a bag of heroin that had only Smith’s DNA on it.

5. Judge’s decision- Even with all of that info, St. Louis circuit judge, Timothy Wilson, found Stockley not guilty. His reasons were partly because he found it hard to believe that a drug dealer didn’t have a gun on him, although the heroin found in the car was said to only have the officer’s DNA on it. Here’s what Judge Wilson was quoted as saying in his court ruling, by Heavy.com: “An urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly. […] This Court, in conscience, cannot say that the State has proven every element of murder beyond a reasonable doubt, or that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense.”

In case you’re wondering why only a judge made the ruling, it’s because Stockley waived his right to a 12 member trial, which then left the decision only up to ONE person, instead of 12 people who are of the St. Louis community where the shooting took place.

WATCH VIDEO OF INCIDENT

The video below thoroughly explains what happened throughout the 6 minute encounter and police chase between Stockley, his partner, Officer , and Anthony Lamar Smith. Check it out below and tell us if you think the not guilty verdict is justifiable…

Should Anthony Lamar Smith have been arrested for the high sped police chase? Of course. But should he be dead? That is the million dollar question. Based on the info and video footage that has been released to the public so far, it seems that he should not have been killed.

At the time of Smith’s death, his daughter, Autumn Smith, was 1 year old and now she’s 6. According to Heavy, the ‘St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners paid a $900,000 settlement to Autumn Smith’ in a wrongful death and civil rights federal lawsuit Autumn’s mother, Christina Wilson, filed against them in 2012 for Smith’s killing.