Five people are suing the Missouri police for $40 million, claiming officers treated US citizens “as if they were war combatants.” The five were arrested in the wake of rioting and unrest following the death of teenager Michael Brown on August 9.
The group claims they were going about their everyday business before they were assaulted and arrested by the police who showed, “militaristic displays of force and weaponry.” The defendants in the case are the city of Ferguson, St. Louis County, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Delmar, Ferguson police officer Justin Cosmo, as well as other police officers from Ferguson and St. Louis County, Reuters reports.
The alleged incidents took place between August 11 and 13. One of the plaintiffs includes a 17-year-old who was arrested and allegedly ‘roughed up’ by police at a McDonald’s restaurant along with his mother, Tracey White, for simply not leaving the fast food chain quickly enough. According to the suit which has been filed, officers with rifles threw the mother to the ground before handcuffing her and her son.
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