Judge orders limitations on police use of tear gas

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A federal judge has imposed some limits on what actions police can take during protests in Missouri, ruling that officers must give demonstrators a reasonable chance to disperse before deploying tear gas and other chemical agents.

U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson late Thursday granted a temporary restraining order on behalf of demonstrators protesting the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

Brown's death led to weeks of protests and some looting in the St. Louis area.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by six protesters against leaders of the "unified command" established by Gov. Jay Nixon in August to handle security at those protests - Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar and St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson.

Police testified Thursday that they did what was necessary during the often unruly demonstrations. But protesters told the judge that they were subjected to tear gas with virtually no warning.

Jackson's order requires police to warn crowds of the impending use of tear gas, pepper spray and other chemical agents and provide "reasonable" time for people to disperse before tear gas is deployed. The ruling does not define what is reasonable, leaving that to police discretion.

Jackson wrote that evidence "establishes that law enforcement officials failed to give the plaintiffs and other protesters any warning that chemical agents would be deployed and, hence, no opportunity to avoid injury."

Her order also prohibits use of chemical agents on "non-criminal" protesters "for the purpose of frightening them or punishing them for exercising their constitutional rights."

Jackson set a preliminary injunction hearing for Jan. 6 to consider whether to make the temporary order longer-term.

Thomas Harvey, an attorney for the protesters, called it a "great ruling."

"We were simply asking the judge to require police to make it possible for law-abiding citizens to comply with their order to disperse and give them time to exit the area prior to tear gas being deployed," Harvey said Friday. "They need to separate criminals from protesters and she made the distinction very clear."

St. Louis City Counselor Winston Calvert said the ruling has little impact because it is consistent with existing policy of the city's police force. He called it a "common-sense order that will allow the St. Louis Police Department to continue to protect protesters' constitutional rights, keep people safe and protect people's homes and businesses."

Messages seeking comment from attorneys and representatives for the Highway Patrol and St. Louis County police were not immediately returned.

Protests against police brutality have spread across the country since Nov. 24 when St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced the grand jury decision not to charge Wilson with a crime. Fuelling the movement, another grand jury in New York decided to not indict a white officer in the death of Eric Garner, who died gasping "I can't breathe" while police were trying to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

Link: Temporary restraining order document

Earlier coverage:

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A woman who protested in Ferguson and St. Louis the night a grand jury decided not to indict the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown testified Thursday that police used tear gas without provocation.

Alexis Templeton testified as part of a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order that would place strict guidelines on police use of force during demonstrations, including limits on use of chemical agents such as tear gas and pepper spray.

It isn't clear when U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson will rule. Her decision will apply only to Missouri.

Templeton, 20, is co-founder of the activist group Millennial Activists United. She's one of six protesters who filed the suit.

Ferguson officer Darren Wilson shot and killed the unarmed, black 18-year-old on Aug. 9. The shooting by a white officer resulted in protests and some looting.

After months of mostly peaceful protests, violence was renewed on Nov. 24 after St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced the grand jury decision not to charge Wilson with a crime.

Templeton said violence in Ferguson that night came after police fired tear gas at peaceful protesters, moments after ordering them to disperse.

"People started choking," Templeton said. "People were vomiting on the ground. It was chaos."

Templeton said that later that night, she drove to a separate demonstration in the Shaw neighborhood of St. Louis, the site of another recent police shooting, and police used tear gas there as well. Steven Hoffman, 31, a legal observer who volunteered to watch how police interacted with protesters, said he also was in the Shaw neighborhood when a large police vehicle suddenly began firing tear gas canisters.

St. Louis County Police attorney Michael Hughes said officers did what they had to do. That night, 12 businesses in and near Ferguson were burned, along with police cars. Several other businesses and Ferguson City Hall were damaged.

"They were well-prepared," Hughes said of police. "They handled themselves very well."

The lawsuit names St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar and Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson. The three were leaders of the "unified command," appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon in August, which was responsible for protection related to civil unrest.

Police actions have had a chilling effect on demonstrators' constitutional rights of assembly and free speech, their attorney, Thomas B. Harvey, said.

Protests have spread across the country since the Brown decision and a grand jury decision in New York City not to indict a white officer in the death of Eric Garner, who died gasping "I can't breathe" while police were trying to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.