Four Journalists Sue Ferguson Police for ‘False Arrest’ & Tight Plastic Handcuffs

Four journalists are suing the Ferguson police department for battery, false arrest and unreasonable search and seizure. The lawsuit is being brought by the far left Intercept group.
ferguson riot

The reporters said they were treated badly and their plastic handcuffs were too tight.
The Politico reported:

Four journalists are suing the Ferguson, Mo. police department for battery, false arrest and unreasonable search and seizure while they were covering the unrest in the city following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in August.

The suit is being brought by The Intercept’s Ryan Devereaux as well as German journalists Ansgar Graw, Frank Herrmann and Lukas Hermsmeier. The suit seeks unspecified punitive damages.

In one incident, the suit alleges Devereaux and Hermsmeier were shot at by rubber bullets while walking toward police with their hands in the air and identifying themselves as members of the media. Police then arrested the two, holding them for several hours before charging them with “refusal to disperse.” Devereaux and Hermsmeier both allege in the suit that their hands were injured as the result of the plastic handcuffs they were placed in for several hours.

Graw and Herrmann were arrested while trying to cover the protest and police activity at a gas station. According to the suit, Graw continued to take photographs after being told to “keep moving” by police while Herrmann questioned the directive. At that point the police arrested the two journalists and allegedly purposely tightened the plastic handcuffs to inflict pain. When Graw asked for one of the arresting officer’s name, he replied “Donald Duck.” Both Graw and Herrmann allege that they suffered injuries from the handcuffs.

In both incidents, the journalists allege police complained about media coverage of the events in Ferguson. Graw and Herrmann were told they should be “ashamed” of being journalists.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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