Ex-St. Louis officer acquitted of assaulting protesters

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A former St. Louis police officer has been acquitted of charges that he assaulted three people with pepper spray during a protest near Busch Stadium in 2017.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Judge Thom C. Clark wrote in his ruling on Friday that he found William Oltsen’s use of pepper spray justified because it followed verbal threats of violence, two physical attacks on other officers and several police orders for the crowd to disperse.

Assistant Circuit Attorney Jeff Estes said at trial that Olsten had no justification to spray people participating in a peaceful protest.