A federal judge ordered St. Louis-area police to grant warnings before firing tear gas in order to give crowds “reasonable” time to disperse, following a lawsuit over wanton use of tear gas by militarized police during race-related protests in Ferguson.
US District Judge Carol Jackson ruled after hearing arguments in a lawsuit against local and state law enforcement officials that stemmed from police action in Ferguson, a suburb in St. Louis County, and in areas of St. Louis city on November 24, following a grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson, a former Ferguson police officer who killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August.
The fatal shooting triggered months of protests and civil unrest, both locally and nationwide, over the case and, in general, racial profiling, police brutality, and race- and class-based inequality within the American legal system.