Here’s some decent news.
A federal judge has ruled that police in Ferguson, Mo. violated the Constitutional rights of protestors by telling them they had to keep walking and couldn’t stand still while demonstrating.
Hundreds of protestors were arrested in the days after Michael Brown Jr.’s death for staging demonstrations in support of the teenager gunned down by a Ferguson police officer.
From CNN:
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry issued a preliminary injunction Monday forbidding law enforcement from carrying out the practice because “it is likely that these agencies will again apply this unconstitutional policy.”
Law enforcement agencies adopted the policy on August 18, a few days after protests began following the shooting death of unarmed African-American teen Michael Brown at the hands of a white police officer.
The case was brought by the ACLU after it saw the strategy being practiced as recently as September 27. In some cases, officers told protesters they couldn’t stand still for more than five seconds. In others, the protesters were told they were walking too slowly.
“One person asked plaintiff (in the case) to join her in prayer and police said they could pray while they were walking,” Perry wrote.
Perry said, however, the officers did have the right to disperse protestors and restrict certain areas from demonstrators.
“This injunction prevents only the enforcement of an ad hoc rule developed for the Ferguson protests,” she said.
From the Huffington Post: Perry ruled that individuals who wished to gather “in the wake of Michael Brown’s tragic death have a constitutional right to do so.” She also noted that “they do not have the right to endanger lives of police officers or other citizens.” She said that nothing in her order restricted the ability of police officers to do their jobs.
When the policy was adopted, Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson defended its use, saying officers were not violating protestors’ rights. Instead, he said “we’re allowing you to protest.”
The federal judge, thankfully, disagreed. As did the thousands of protestors whose rights were infringed upon.
We’ll keep you updated with the latest from Ferguson.
