One of the suspects arrested in the violent Ferguson protest, during which a police officer fought for his life, is a Democratic delegate from Missouri and a “highly publicized” left-wing activist with a long history of clashes with law enforcement.
Keith Rose served as an alternate delegate from St. Louis to the Democratic National Convention — which is set to begin in Chicago on Monday — until he resigned over the weekend following an arrest for property damage Friday during protests marking the 10th anniversary of the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
Rose, a longtime progressive activist, was also appointed this year to the St. Louis Civilian Oversight Board, which is tasked with reviewing allegations of misconduct against the police department.
But Rose has a long history of conflict with law enforcement, including an arrest in 2014 during early protests following the killing of Michael Brown by a white police officer, and another in 2017 during another demonstration protesting the acquittal of a white police officer in the shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith, who was black.
Rose and three others sued the city of Ferguson for $20 million after his 2014 arrest on allegations of malicious prosecution, The Washington Post reported.
The activist was also part of a major class-action lawsuit filed against the city of St. Louis in 2017 alleging police mistreatment following Smith’s protest, according to Fox 2 Now. The city reached a settlement and agreed to pay $4.91 million, or about $58,500 per person, to 84 protesters.
In both lawsuits, Rose and the plaintiffs claimed they were wrongfully detained during mass arrests or wrongfully prosecuted in the days that followed.
Another arrest was in 2018, when he used a bike lock to chain his head to a revolving door at Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt’s office in protest of Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination, according to the St. Louis American.
Rose recused himself from his duties on the Board of Supervisors this week after three St. Louis city councilors issued a letter saying he was no longer able to “appear neutral and objective” on policing issues.
““I think any normal person would look at this and say, ‘There’s a problem,’” St. Louis Police Association President Jay Schroeder told the Post of Rose’s position on the Police Oversight Board after his latest arrest at the Ferguson protest.
“When you have a civilian oversight board, you want a fair and equitable side when you look at these things – and I just don’t think they have the ability to look at things in an impartial way.”
Rose’s attorney, Javad Khazaeli, told the Post that his client resigned from his position on the board so as not to be a distraction — but he did not resign.
“He’s not going to resign because he didn’t do anything wrong,” Khazaeli said.
Meanwhile, Schroder explained that Rose had been a regular face on the protest scene for at least a decade.
“He is extremely well-known and involved,” Schroeder said. “He has been the main agitator of the protesters for almost a decade.”
Footage released by the Ferguson Police Department appears to show Rose shaking the gate protecting the building during Friday’s heated protests.
Some time later, police moved in to make arrests for the damage, and as the protesters fled, one of them charged at Officer Travis Brown, smashing his head into the concrete and leaving him with a severe brain injury.
Rose has denied damaging the department’s fence and has distanced himself from Brown’s alleged assault, telling 5 On Your Side through an attorney that “violence is never acceptable” when exercising the right to peaceful assembly. He has not been charged in the assault on the officer.
Khazaeli refuted the characterization of his client as an agitator and denied damaging property.
“The Ferguson Police Department released a video that shows our client did not breach the fence. We don’t understand why we’re still here,” the attorney said, adding that Rose was “just playing with it.”
“He is an activist who successfully sued the police for violating his constitutional rights when they beat him without justification. He has never been convicted of anything. The only time he has been charged, a judge found him not guilty. But he is someone who holds the government accountable.
Arrest documents accused Rose of knocking over part of the police department’s fence, causing more than $750 in damage.
He is free on $500 bail.
Officer Brown remains in critical condition six days after being injured in the incident, which was captured in graphic footage that Ferguson police released Tuesday.
Her alleged attacker, Elijah Gannt, 28, remains in prison on various charges.
