Police Handout
A former St. Louis police officer who allegedly shot 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith while on duty in 2011 has been charged with first-degree murder. Jason Stockley, 35, was arrested Monday at his home in Houston by U.S. Marshals and St. Louis police. He’s held without bail at a jail in Harris County, Texas. “I’m disappointed because I know what fine public servants the vast majority of police officers are, and this kind of conduct on the part of this former officer doesn’t reflect the excellent work I see from them every day,” said Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, adding “It’s important that people understand that if you commit a crime, and we have the evidence to prove it, it doesn’t matter to us what you do for a living. Our job is to hold people accountable if we have the evidence. And in this case, we do.” Smith was shot after a high-speed chase. Stockley and his partner allegedly shot at Smith’s car and then chased him at speeds a high as 80 miles per hour. During the chase, Stockley reportedly said: “Going to kill this [expletive deleted], don’t you know it.” When the chase ended, Stockley walked up to Smith’s driver’s side window and shot him five times, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.