No. 22-1735 ___________________________

Rasheen Aldridge

Plaintiff - Appellant

v. City of St. Louis, Missouri; John Hayden, Col., in his individual and official capacities; William Olsten, Officer, in his individual and official capacities

Defendants - Appellees ___________________________

No. 22-1910 ___________________________

Jazmin Franks

Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

City of St. Louis, Missouri; John Hayden, Col., in his individual capacity; William Olsten, Officer, in his individual capacity

Defendants - Appellees ___________________________

No. 22-2213 ___________________________

Crystal Brown

Plaintiff - Appellant v.

City of St. Louis, Missouri; John Hayden, Col., in his individual and official capacities; William Olsten, Officer, in his individual and official capacities

Defendants - Appellees ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ____________

Submitted: January 10, 2023 Filed: July 28, 2023 ____________ Before GRASZ, MELLOY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ GRASZ, Circuit Judge.

Appellants Rasheen Aldridge, Jazmin Franks, and Crystal Brown were each pepper-sprayed by Police Officer William Olsten while participating in a protest in downtown St. Louis. Each of them sued Officer Olsten, Chief of Police John Hayden, and the City of St. Louis, alleging First Amendment retaliation and excessive force claims, as well as various other federal and state law claims. In each case, the district court 1 granted summary judgment in favor of the city officials on all the federal claims and declined supplemental jurisdiction on the state law claims. We consolidated the cases and, having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, affirm.

1 The Honorable Rodney W. Sippel, then Chief Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, now United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri; the Honorable Stephen R. Clark, then United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, now Chief Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri; and the Honorable John M. Bodenhausen, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, to whom the case was referred for final disposition by consent of the parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). -2- I. Background

Following the acquittal of a police officer on first-degree murder charges, protests occurred around St. Louis over several weeks. During one such protest in the downtown area, St. Louis Police Department officers tased and arrested one of the protestors. A group of other protestors, including the three appellants, began to follow the officers as they led the arrestee away from the scene. Various video images of the protest confirm that while members of the crowd verbally questioned and sometimes taunted officers, they generally remained non-violent.

Officer Olsten was one of the numerous officers at the scene. Various officers can be heard on the video recordings repeatedly directing the group of protestors to “get back” as Officer Olsten and others attempted