Federal Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order Against Use of Tear Gas

On Thursday, Federal Judge Carol E. Jackson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, entered a temporary restraining order against defendants Chief Jon Belmar of the St. Louis County Police, Chief D. Samuel Dotson III of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police and Capt. Ronald S. Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Judge Jackson ordered that tear gas cannot be used to disperse legal gatherings and that the police must give clear warnings before deploying tear gas. The judge also ruled that the police must take steps to minimize the effect on those following orders and ensure that people have a “safe egress from the area.”

The matter was filed by six plaintiffs who also asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order requiring the police to wear “clearly visible personal identification” when responding to protests, and for the police to adhere to the law when deciding whether a protest constitutes illegal assembly.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 6, 2015.