FILE - 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 Decemb...

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A white former police officer was acquitted Friday in the 2011 death of a black man who was fatally shot following a high-speed chase, with the judge declaring that he would not be swayed by "partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism." The acquittal of Jason Stockley in the death of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith came amid concerns of significant unrest, but St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson wrote that he was bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct to not be swayed by “partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism.” About 100 protesters were marching in downtown St. Louis within hours of the verdict being released. Ex-cop Stockley acquitted of first-degree murder

Stockley was found not guilty of first-degree murder after he fatally shot and killed Smith back in 2011. • Ferguson police to wear body cameras in wake of Michael Brown shooting

Stockley, who was charged with first-degree murder, insisted he saw Anthony Lamar Smith holding a gun and felt he was in imminent danger. Stockley opted to have his case heard in front of a judge instead of a jury, and St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson wrote in his ruling Friday, “This Court, in conscience, cannot say that the State has proven every element of murder beyond a reasonable doubt, or that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense.”

Prosecutors said they are disappointed with the ruling, and government officials have also called for calm in the wake of recent protests that have erupted in response to the verdict. Following the ruling, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner acknowledged the difficulty of winning police shooting cases, but maintained that the prosecution had "offered sufficient evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt" that Stockley had intended to kill Smith. Police dashcam video captured Stockley stating he was “going to kill this (expletive), don’t you know it,” prior to the shooting, and also showed the officer go to his police car and dig through a bag before returning to Smith’s vehicle after the shooting, leading prosecutors to believe he’d planted the gun. Stockley's lawyer dismissed the remarks, saying they were "human emotions" uttered during a high-risk police pursuit. The judge wrote that the statement “can be ambiguous depending on the context.”

Stockley, who left St. Louis’ police force in 2013 and moved to Houston, could have been sentenced to up to life in prison without parole. Ahead of the acquittal, activists had threatened civil disobedience if Jason Stockley were not convicted, including possible efforts to shut down highways. Police said they were being proactive to ensure safety “due to recent events around the country.”

The St. Louis area has a history of unrest in such cases, including after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014. The case played out not far from the suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, which was the scene of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old who was killed by a white police officer in 2014. In Smith’s case, the encounter began when Stockley and his partner tried to corner Smith in a fast-food restaurant parking lot after seeing what appeared to be a drug deal. Stockley testified that he saw what he believed was a gun, and his partner yelled “gun!” as Smith backed into the police SUV twice to get away. Stockley's attorney, Neil Bruntrager, argued that Smith, a 24-year-old parole violator with previous convictions for gun and drug crimes, tried to run over the two officers. Stockley then got out of the SUV and fired five shots into Smith's car, killing him. At the end of the chase, Stockley opened fire only when Smith, still in his car, refused commands to put up his hands and reached along the seat “in the area where the gun was,” Bruntrager said. After chasing the Smith by car, Stockely opened fire through the driver's window after Smith allegedly tried to reach over to the passenger seat to grab a revolver. But prosecutors questioned why Stockley dug into a bag in the back seat of the police SUV before returning to Smith’s car. He said later he was using a different camera and protesters told him they would beat him if he didn’t put it away. One of several officer acquittals

The case was among several in recent years in which a white officer killed a black suspect. Since then, several officers have also been acquitted in police shooting trials in Minnesota, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, while a case in Ohio twice ended in a hung jury with the prosecution deciding not to seek a third trial.
The ex-police officer involved in a fatal 2011 shooting of a black man in St. Louis, Missouri is acquitted of all charges related to the case.