Ex-St. Louis Policeman Acquitted in Black Suspect’s Killing

This undated file photo provided by the St. Louis Police Department shows former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, who is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the December 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith. St. Louis Police Department

ST. LOUIS—A Missouri judge on Friday found a white former St. Louis police officer not guilty of murder in the shooting death of a black man after a car chase in 2011, prosecutors said.

Officials feared the verdict could set off violent protests, as have similar deadly cases involving police and minorities around the United States in recent years.