Civil rights groups and activists sued Baton Rouge law enforcement agencies over their treatment of protesters rallying against the police shooting death of a black man, saying officers used excessive force and physically and verbally abused peaceful demonstrators.
(FOX)- The lawsuit, announced Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, came hours after Cameron Sterling, the 15-year-old son of the slain man spoke publicly for the first time, calling for peaceful protests following the death of his father, 37-year-old Alton Sterling.
Sterling was shot to death July 5 as two white officers pinned him to the pavement outside a convenience store. The killing was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely on the internet, sparking widespread demonstrations across the capital city.
Authorities arrested about 200 protesters over a three-day period, often taking to the streets in riot gear or riding in military-style vehicles. The arrests came amid heightened tensions in the city following Sterling’s death, a deadly police shooting in Minnesota and the killings of five police officers in Dallas.
The governor and the Baton Rouge police chief have defended the response, with the chief saying Tuesday that authorities discovered an alleged plot against police over the weekend. Authorities said they found out about the plot after they arrested three suspects in the burglary of eight guns from a pawn shop.
The chief said one of the suspects said the burglary was carried out “to harm police officers,” but he didn’t give any details about when or where a possible plot would be carried out.
The lawsuit, which names Baton Rouge police as well as other agencies, blames law enforcement for escalating the situation. Members of the five organizations that filed the suit either took part in the demonstrations or observed them.