Former St. Louis officer acquitted in August 2018 shooting

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    ST LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — A St. Louis judge on Friday acquitted a former St. Louis police officer of assault and firearm charges related to the shooting of a carjacking suspect, who was struck but survived.

St. Louis Circuit Judge John T. Bird found Matthew D. Eernisse, 30, not guilty of second-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of Arvell Keithley on Aug. 27, 2018, in the 5500 block of Chamberlain Avenue.

At the time of the shooting, Eernisse was pursuing Keithley on foot, following a vehicular pursuit of a stolen vehicle. During the foot pursuit, Keithley allegedly reached for his waistband, and Eernisse fired several shots. Past reporting by First Alert 4 shows that court documents said no weapon was found at the scene.

The case was presented by former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to a grand jury, who indicted Eernisse on a count of first-degree assault in the incident. That charge was amended to second-degree assault on the eve of a bench trial held with Bird presiding, but prosecutors still contended the former officer’s actions were reckless.

Bird wrote in a verdict issued Friday the evidence showed the shooting was justified.

“There was no evidence that officer Eernisse shot Keithley in the back after being blinded by his muzzle flash, as alleged by the state, and no evidence officer Eernisse continued to shoot his weapon when it was reckless to do so,” Bird wrote.

A message to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Defense attorney Scott Rosenblum said following the verdict issued Friday that charges never should have been brought against his client in the incident.

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