St. Louis American endorses Page A4
St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited OCT. 30 – NOV. 5, 2014
Vol. 85 No. 30 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Stenger faces Stream on Nov. 4 ballot n Jake County Executive, County Assessor, Zimmerman has been endorsed by both the PostRecorder of Deeds to be decided Dispatch and the By Chris King Of The St. Louis American In the November 4 election, one of the most closely watched races statewide will be between Democrat Steve Stenger and Republican Rick Stream battling for the St. Louis County Executive seat.
Stream’s supporters say the current budget chairman for the Missouri House of Representatives has the financial background to be a solid administrator, while his opponents say his voting record is extreme even for a conservative. Stream was also a former budget manager for the U.S. Department of Defense. As a current St. Louis County Councilman,
black Democrats organized as the Fannie Lou Hamer coalition.
Stenger understands the various county agencies and county departments, his supporters say. He is also a lawyer and a certified public accountant. Opponents say Stenger has a record of working See BALLOT, A6
Myers’ family releases autopsy Shots from behind contradict police account of killing By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American VonDerrit D. Myers Jr. was shot eight times, mostly on the back of the legs, with one fatal shot to the side of the head, according to an independent autopsy report. Myers’ family hired pathologist Dr. Cyril H. Wecht to conduct a study of the gun wounds from October 8, when Myers was shot and killed by an off-duty St. Louis Metropolitan Police officer. Six bullets struck Myers on the rear part of his body and the other two were “not directly frontal,” Wecht said. One shot hit him on the right side of the face, between the eyebrow and the ear. Another shot struck him on the side of his left thigh. Wecht said he did not know the order in which See AUTOPSY, A6
Hundreds mourn VonDerrit Myers Jr. Photo by Wiley Price
Protestors head South Ferguson protestor Alexis Templeton confronted a St. Louis police officer during a protest on South Grand Boulevard on Thursday, October 23. As a result of the St. Louis police shooting of VonDerrit Myers Jr. in the city’s Shaw neighborhood on October 8, protests have now spilled over into South St. Louis.
Municipal court ‘Fright Night’ Black and brown protestors unite in St. Ann By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American In what they called “St. Ann Fright Night,” more than 70 protestors gathered in front of the City of St. Ann’s municipal court building Tuesday, October 28 to project a video of police abuses and pass out bags of popcorn with racial-profiling statistics stapled to the bags. “We are calling this St. Ann Fright Night because sometimes reality is scarier than any horror movie,” said activist Elizabeth Vega, See ST. ANN, A7
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
Evan Smith shielded his son Miles from the horror of images of police abuse projected onto the City of St. Ann’s municipal court building Tuesday, October 28 during the “Fright Night” protest.
Call to action at Shaw shooting victim’s funeral By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American “Love is stronger than death, even though we can’t stop death from happening,” said Cameron Ming, reading from a statement he had written about his friend VonDerrit Myers Jr. Sunday afternoon a community came together n “These are to say goodbye to Myers our babies, – who was killed by and we have an off-duty St. Louis to stand up for Metropolitan Police officer near Shaw and Klemm on them.” October 8. He was only 18. Tears flowed freely – Akbar and hearts were especially Muhammad heavy at the Prince of Peace Church. But Myers’ ascension was given most of the focus as family, friends and members of the faith community tried their best to deflect from the tragic circumstances of his death as they laid him to rest. “VonDerrit is now done with the troubles of the world,” soloist Bill Smith sang with a pitiful moan. “He’s gone on to be with God.” Beyonce’s “Heaven” accompanied a slide show that captured images from throughout See MYERS, A7