A St. Louis police officer is under investigation after calling the a real estate broker’s office to
discuss the broker’s involvement in protests surrounding the shootings
of Michael Brown and VonDerrit Myers, Jr. The officer in question, Keith
Novara, called to complain about the actions of Leigh Maibes, who is
known as ‘Short Stack’ on Twitter and has been protesting in Ferguson
since Brown was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August
9th. Recently, protests moved to the Shaw neighborhood in south St.
Louis after the shooting death of Myers. Also, a number of protests and
‘actions’ took place in multiple areas of St. Louis during Ferguson
October’s Weekend of Resistance
Earlier this week, Novara called RE/Max, the real
estate brokerage firm where Maibes works. Pr Novara, he just wanted to
let Maibes’ employer know the activities she’s been up to, especially as
he feels that she, and other protesters, are engaging in “corrosive
behavior.” Maibes called the police officer on Wednesday to discuss why
he called her employer. Below is her YouTube video of the call:
Obviously, the intention of Officer Novara was to
intimidate Maibes and other activists. By calling her employer, he was
hoping to force Maibes to back off from further protests, perhaps even
force her to stop filming while at demonstrations. The police department
is now investigating Novara and he has retained a lawyer via the police
officers union. The union released a statement defending Novara’s
actions, which Maibes tweeted out on Thursday.
Maibes also made a insightful statement regarding
the actions taken against her by the police. She wondered what is
happening to other protesters and activists, especially those who are
people of color, if this is occurring to her.
Just from my own interactions with protesters during
demonstrations in Ferguson, it is apparent that officers are targeting
certain people and essentially taking tabs. During Monday’s demonstration at the Ferguson police station,
one young activist spoke to me and pointed out that specific police
officers were “eyeballing’ him and others based on their familiarity.
Other protesters have mentioned this as well, claiming that officers
have made inquiries about their lives only to later make veiled threats
about calling their work, home or school. I’ve also been informed of the
specific targeting of activist and livestreamers by police for either
arrest or harsh police tactics such as tear gas, pepper spray or rubber
bullets. (in this instance, I am leaving names out due to the potential
impact identifying them could have with police.)
As for Maibes, she is not going to let this deter
her one bit. She claimed on Twitter Friday that she would continue to
document what is happening in these protests.
Currently, the protesters are waiting for a ruling
to come down from the grand jury regarding Wilson’s fate. St. Louis
County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch said last month that he expected the
grand jury to come to a decision no later than early November. With such
a long wait, many of the most active protesters feel that a
non-indictment is coming.
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