Journalists sue US police over abuse

The journalists said they were mistreated by the police officers while they were aware that they were reporters.

On Monday, the lawsuit was filed by US citizen Ryan Devereaux of The Intercept and three German nationals living in the United States – Ansgar Graw of Die Welt, Frank Herrmann of the Rheinische Post group and freelance reporter Lukas Hermsmeier.

“This was a very new experience,” Graw said. “But to be arrested and yelled at and be rudely treated by police? For that I had to travel to Ferguson and St. Louis in the United States of America.”

The St. Louis Police Department is charged with “intentionally and willfully” subjecting the journalists to “violations of freedom of the press and free speech” for the purpose of “obstructing, chilling, deterring, and retaliating” against reporters covering the unrest in Ferguson.

Protests erupted in the Missouri town after a grand jury decided not to indict former white police officer Darren Wilson for killing the unarmed black teenager in August.

Twenty-four journalists were arrested in Ferguson between August and November 2014, the Freedom of the Press Foundation said.

The US Justice Department released a report earlier this month detailing the ways in which the Ferguson police created fear and resentment among African-American residents in the Missouri town by disproportionately targeting them with fines, tickets and excessive force.

The report is the result of a months-long probe triggered by the last summer’s shooting death of Brown.

Activists say the police killings of African-Americans are clear evidence of the prevalence of police brutality, poverty and racism in the United States.
/SR