I did speak to a ex-city cop friend of mine this weekend. He quit the force because he's an honest guy, (currently a preacher) and wouldn't lie on police reports. He told me he was told to get an untraceable gun and keep it in his bag. One time on a call, they uncovered a couple guns and his partner grabbed one, tossed it to him and told him this one's perfect and to hang on to it. But in 5 years, he never saw one planted.

I'm sure gun planting happens but in this case, watching video, I don't think so. But, ultimately, I don't know for sure, I'm not the officer. Only a couple people know if he did or didn't.

In reading the whole testimony, Stockely's (the cop who fired) new partner (a new cop named Brian) yelled "Gun!" when Smith (the victim) backed his car at the cops and pushed their car out of the way so he could get away. Brian drew his gun and broke out the passenger window as the car sped away. I wonder if it's possible Smith never had a gun, the newbie cop yelled gun when there wasn't one. So when they finally caught up to Smith, the airbag was deployed and filling the front seats of the car. In the video, you can see Stockley reaching in and pulling the bag away. Maybe Stockley saw Smith was searching for something in between the seats, (maybe he thought he had a gun hidden there) and he shot him because he thought he had a gun. Afterwards, when Stockley couldn't find a gun, he planted it to protect and cover his partner's mistake.

Regardless, there's been over a 100 arrest, bunch of broken windows and a dozen or so wounded cops. There's talk of more protest today, but now I see why they announced this on Friday. You lose one day of business because it seems there's only momentum for a couple days worth of rioting. You announce this on a Monday, and you lose a week. Plus, the Cardinals were out of town so that was a big plus. There were a couple concerts cancelled because there weren't enough police for security.

google St Louis Post Dispatch Jason Stockley Video and you should find it. I have it on an app.