A settlement agreement today resolves a federal lawsuit that accuses law enforcement of trampling on the civil rights of protesters in Baton Rouge following the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police, The Associated Press reports.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys said their “memorandum of understanding” with state and local police officials affirms that people have the right to peacefully protest.
Permits may be required for gatherings that would block roads, allowing police to redirect traffic, the filing adds. Commands to disperse “will be given in a manner reasonably calculated to be communicated to all persons present.” The agreement doesn’t include any monetary terms.
“We have to make sure that people’s First Amendment rights are protected,” says Marjorie Esman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Louisiana chapter.
Police arrested nearly 200 protesters in Baton Rouge following the July 5 shooting death of Sterling, a black man who was killed by two white officers outside a convenience store.
Attorneys from the ACLU of Louisiana and the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice filed the lawsuit, accusing police of using excessive force in a “military-grade assault” on protesters.
Officers pointed high-powered weapons at protesters, physically and verbally abused them and threatened them with the use of pepper spray, the suit said.
The Louisiana State Police, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and Baton Rouge’s police chief and mayor are among the defendants named in the ACLU’s suit.
Last week, the Metro Council approved a settlement agreement to resolve a separate federal lawsuit filed on behalf of protesters who were arrested, including prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson.
That deal calls for the city government, state police, the sheriff’s office and the local district attorney’s office to pay no more than $25,000 apiece—for a total of about $100,000—to compensate more than 90 of the arrested protesters.
The Justice Department still is investigating Sterling’s death. In the meantime, police are preparing for the possibility of more protests after the investigation is completed.
