A racially mixed crowd of demonstrators marched quietly Monday morning in the American city of Saint Louis, Missouri. The demonstrators were protesting a court decision to drop charges against a white former police officer in the shooting death of a black man. The march followed three days of peaceful protests and three nights of violence in St. Louis. The unrest began when a judge said he found Jason Stockley not guilty in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith. The former officer had been charged with killing Smith after a car chase. Prosecutors accused Stockley of placing a gun on the body. They also said video recorded from his car during the chase captured the officer saying that he was planning to kill Smith. The judge ruled that the lawyers had failed to prove the shooting was not a justified use of force in self-defense.

What does charge mean?
shooting death
accusation
justified
court case
What were the demonstrators protesting?
plant a gun
court decision
peaceful protest
shooting death
Demonstrators were protesting a court decision to drop charges.
drop charges
use of force
file charges
charge with murder