U2 Cancels St. Louis Over Protest

U2 has canceled its Saturday night concert in St. Louis after police told concert organizers that they couldn’t provide a typical level of security because of protests.

Hundreds marched Friday after a judge acquitted a white former St. Louis police officer in the 2011 shooting death of a black suspect. The protests are expected to continue on Saturday.

Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP – U2
Bono listens to the crowd when U2 brings “The Joshua Tree Tour” to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., May 21.

Police say nine city police officers and one State Highway Patrol officer were injured in Friday’s protests. There were 23 arrests before 6 p.m. and an unknown number of additional arrests after that.

The band says on its website that it can’t in good conscience risk its fans’ safety. The site outlines plans for refunds.

Activists say they will meet again Saturday to plan further protests after the acquittal of a white former St. Louis police officer in the fatal shooting of a black man.

Hundreds protested Friday. They marched for hours in mostly peaceful demonstrations, until a broken window at the mayor’s home and escalating tensions led riot-gear-clad officers to lob tear gas to disperse the crowds.

Activists had for weeks threatened civil disobedience if Jason Stockley were not convicted in the 2011 death of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith. That stirred fears of civil unrest and the erecting of barricades around police headquarters, the courthouse where the trial was held and other potential protest sites.

More than 20 arrests were made by early Friday evening. Police reported that 10 officers had suffered injuries by the end of the night.