Jessica Mason Pieklo: The first lawsuit, seeking the Ferguson Police Department’s full report on the police shooting, claims the department’s refusal to release the officer’s name right away and other details of the event violates Missouri’s Sunshine Law, a state law designed to promote transparency and accountability in government affairs. The second lawsuit asks the court to block the Ferguson Police Department’s policy of demanding and ordering members of the media and the public to stop recording the police acting in their official duty on public streets and sidewalks, specifically in response to community protests following Brown’s death. According to the complaint, “[D]efendants’ response to the demonstrations has been controversial, including using force, ordering peaceful protestors to disband and evacuate the streets and sidewalks, and ordering protestors and observers to stop documenting and videotaping the demonstrations.” The complaint continues, “[T]here is widespread interest in Defendants’ tactics, which raise questions about whether a military response to the protest is consistent with the values of the United States.”
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 08:28:00 +0000
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