NEW EVIDENCE IN CASE
As protests continued Thursday outside Baltimore’s City Hall, a new detail emerged in the latest case raising questions about police conduct: Police there had placed suspect Freddie Gray not only in handcuffs but in leg irons before putting him the back of a van, and left him without a seatbelt during his trip to a police station. Gray died following the ride, and is said to have suffered a severed spinal cord injury. Unbelted detainees have been paralyzed and even killed by rough rides in what used to be called “paddy wagons,” and police brutality against prisoners being transported was addressed just six months ago in a plan released by Baltimore officials to reduce such misconduct. — including that all riders be provided seatbelts.
Associated Press
Michael Brown’s parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, Mo., on Thursday, opening a new chapter in the legal battle over the shooting that killed their son and sparked a national protest movement about the way police treat blacks.
Attorneys for Brown’s parents promised the case would bring to light new forensic evidence and raise doubts about the police version of events. Some of that evidence, they said, had been overlooked in previous investigations.
“The narrative of the law enforcement all across the country for shooting unarmed people of color is the same: That they had no other choice,” attorney Benjamin Crump said. “But time and time again, the objective evidence contradicts the standard police narrative.”
Brown’s parents, Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr., attended a news conference announcing the lawsuit outside the St. Louis County Courthouse.
The case had been expected for months. If it comes to trial, the lawsuit could force a full review of all the evidence in the shooting and bring key witnesses to be questioned in open court, including Darren Wilson, the white officer who shot Brown. Wilson and former Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson were also named in the complaint.
Civil cases generally require a lower standard of proof than criminal cases. Jurors must base their decision on a preponderance of evidence, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the standard needed to convict in a criminal trial.
A Ferguson city spokesman declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. Messages left for an attorney for Wilson were not immediately returned.
Jackson declined to discuss the lawsuit, saying he was unaware of it until a reporter told him and had not had a chance to review the allegations.
Brown, 18, was unarmed and walking in the street with a friend on Aug. 9 when Wilson told them to move to the sidewalk.
The lawsuit alleges that Wilson told the two to “get the (expletive) out of the street,” causing tension to escalate. Without the “unnecessary and unwarranted profane language,” the encounter would have been “uneventful,” it says.
Moments later, Wilson and Brown became involved in a scuffle through the open window of Wilson’s police vehicle. Wilson shot Brown after the scuffle spilled into the street.
Some witnesses said Brown appeared to be trying to surrender, but Wilson said Brown was moving toward him aggressively, forcing him to shoot.
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