ST. LOUIS (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed a $40 million civil rights lawsuit alleging police used excessive force against Ferguson, Missouri, protesters after the 2014 police shooting death of Michael Brown.
U.S. District Judge Henry Autry ruled Friday in St. Louis that the plaintiffs “have completely failed to present any credible evidence” proving the questioned tactics by police involved malice or bad faith. Autry also found protesters ignored repeated warnings to disperse and that the officers named as plaintiffs were entitled to immunity from the lawsuit.
The protesters said Monday that they would appeal.
The sometimes-violent protests followed the August 2014 death of 18-year-old Brown, who was black and unarmed, by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Wilson later was cleared by a grand jury and the Justice Department.