International Shia News Agency

Police sued for $40 million over actions in Ferguson protests

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Press TV: A lawsuit seeking $40 million on behalf of six plaintiffs in the United States accuses Missouri police of using excessive force against protesters in Florida.

The suit, filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Thursday, says law enforcement tried to curb protests over the August 9 killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown with “militaristic displays of force and weaponry,” (and) engaged US citizens “as if they were war combatants.”

“This is a blatant example of how police handle African-Americans … how it can go terribly, terribly wrong. You have a right to peaceful assembly,” said attorney Reginald Greene who brought the case.

The lawsuit is filed on behalf of six plaintiffs, including a mother of a 17-year-old boy who was with his mother in a fast-food restaurant when they were arrested.

The mother claims that she and her son were brutally assaulted and detained by police for not evacuating the restaurant quickly enough.

The suit also includes a 23-year-old man who said he was shot multiple times with rubber bullets and called racial slurs by white policemen.

The fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Brown by a white police officer sparked violent protests that have created unrest in the US.

Brown’s death has restarted the national debate surrounding race and police brutality in the United States. Civil rights activists say the US has a strong degree of institutionalized racism against blacks and minorities.

According to a poll by the New York Times/CBS News, the majority of African-Americans have lost confidence in the justice system following the killing.

The poll found about six in 10 blacks said they had little to no confidence the investigation into Brown’s shooting would be handled fairly.

The death of Brown has heightened racial tensions between the black community and Ferguson’s mostly white police department.

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