ST. LOUIS (AP) – Police cleared out a crowd of protesters early Friday that had taken up camp outside the St. Louis City Hall to call for the resignation of Mayor Lyda Krewson.
Officers moved in just before 4 a.m. to remove the protesters, who had painted “Resign Lyda Resign” in large, yellow and white block letters on the street in front of City Hall. The crowd dispersed peacefully and protesters were moved out within two hours, police said. City crews were seen around 5:30 a.m. trying to remove the street mural.
The move against protesters, who have gathered outside City Hall on and off since Wednesday, came more than a day after the St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed a measure that would ban police chokeholds and require officers to use de-escalation tactics, among other things. The bill is currently awaiting Krewson’s signature.
Krewson has been the subject of protests since last month, when during a live video on Facebook she read the names and addresses of people who have called for taking away funding of police. Krewson’s office has insisted she will not resign.
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