DNC delegate arrested during violent protests in Ferguson, joins police oversight board and wins $5 million lawsuit over police misconduct

One of the suspects arrested in the wake of violent protests in Ferguson that left a police officer fighting for his life is a Democratic delegate from Missouri and a “highly known” left-wing activist who has a history of clashes with police.

Keith Rose served as an alternate delegate for St. Louis at the Democratic National Convention, which was scheduled to begin in Chicago on Monday, until he resigned over the weekend after being arrested on Friday for property damage during demonstrations 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 police.

But Rose has often experienced conflicts with the police in the past. In 2014, for example, he was arrested during the first protests following the murder of Michael Brown by a white police officer. In 2017, he was arrested during another demonstration against the acquittal of a white police officer in the shooting of black Anthony Lamar Smith.

Rose and three others sued the city of Ferguson for $20 million after his arrest in 2014, accusing them of malicious prosecution, The Washington Post reported.

According to Fox 2 Now, the activist was also part of a large class-action lawsuit filed against the city of St. Louis in 2017, alleging police mistreatment following the Smith protest. The city settled and agreed to pay 84 protesters $4.91 million, or about $58,500 per person.

In both lawsuits, Rose and the plaintiffs alleged that they were wrongfully detained during mass arrests or wrongfully prosecuted in the days that followed.

Another arrest occurred in 2018, when he chained his head with a bicycle lock to a revolving door in Missouri Senator Roy Blunt's office in protest of Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, according to the St. Louis American newspaper.

Rose resigned from his board duties this week after three St. Louis city councilors released a letter saying he could no longer “appear neutral and objective” on police matters.

““I think any normal person would look at this and say, 'There's a problem,'” Jay Schroeder, president of the St. Louis Police Officers' Association, told The Post about Rose's stance on the Police Oversight Board after his recent arrest during the Ferguson protests.

“When you have a civilian oversight board, you want a fair and equal party to look at these things – and I just don't think he has the ability to look at things impartially.”

Rose's lawyer, Javad Khazaeli, told the Washington Post that his client had resigned from his board duties to avoid being a distraction – but he had not resigned.

“He will not resign because he has done nothing wrong,” Khazaeli said.

Meanwhile, Schröder said Rose had been a familiar face in the protest scene for at least ten years.

“He is extremely well-known and committed,” said Schroeder. “He has been the main protester for almost a decade.”

Footage released by Ferguson police appears to show Rose shaking the building's security gate during the noisy demonstrations on Friday.

Some time later, police began making arrests for the vandalism, and as protesters fled, one of them charged at police officer Travis Brown, slamming his head into the concrete and suffering a serious brain injury.

Rose has denied damaging the department's fence and distanced himself from the alleged attack on Brown. He told 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 attack on the officer.

Khazaeli rejected the characterization of his client as an agitator and denied that he had caused property damage.

“Ferguson police released video showing that our client did not destroy the fence. We are confused as to why we are still here,” the attorney said, adding that Rose was simply “messing around with it.”

“He's an activist who successfully sued the police for violating his constitutional rights when they beat him for no reason. He's never been convicted of anything. When he was charged once, a judge found him not guilty. But he's someone who holds the government accountable.”

Arrest documents accused Rose of kicking out a portion of the police station fence, causing over $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 footage released by Ferguson police on Tuesday.

His alleged attacker, 28-year-old Elijah Gannt, remains in prison on various assault charges.