Ferguson Police Force Sued For 40 Million Over Protests

A group of six residents of Ferguson, Missouri have sued the city's police force for $40 million regarding arrests and alleged civil rights offenses when they sought to control protests following the death of teen Michael Brown.

The lawsuit has been filed by six people who were arrested by police in Ferguson from August 11 to 13. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, claims that officers with the Ferguson Police Department practiced "militaristic displays of force and weaponry," and treated residents of the St. Louis suburbs "as if they were war combatants."

According to the Associated Press, two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a mother and her 17-year-old son, claim they were arrested by police while dining at a McDonald's restaurant in Ferguson during the protests. Another plaintiff, a 23-year-old, argues he was shot with rubber bullets by police and called racial slurs, while yet another protester claims he was arrested for filming the protests.

The city of Ferguson has been participating in protests, some violent, since the August 9 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen who was shot by officer Darren Wilson while the policeman responded to an alleged robbery of a convenience store.

While police argue that Wilson and Brown were involved in a scuffle, others argue the teen was wrongfully killed by the white police officer. Recent audio that picked up the altercation allegedly indicates there was a pause when Brown was shot, with a rapid succession of six shots followed by a pause, and then four shots.

A federal investigation has been opened for Brown's death, and Attorney General Eric Holder has promised the nation that justice will be found in the teen's death.