Lawsuit Settled Involving Ferguson Officer Who Allegedly Choked, Hog-Tied A 12-Year-Old

WASHINGTON -- A lawsuit against a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who allegedly choked and hog-tied a 12-year-old boy in 2010 has been settled on undisclosed terms, court filings show.

The 2012 lawsuit alleged that Ferguson Police Officer Justin Cosma, who was then serving as a police officer in Jefferson County, Missouri, and his then-colleague Richard Carter approached the shirtless 12-year-old as the boy was checking his mailbox at the end of his driveway.

"Unprovoked and without cause, the deputies grabbed [the boy], choked him around the neck and threw him to the ground," the lawsuit, which was filed by the victim's family, said. The officers allegedly then “hog tied” the young boy, which means they restrained him by tying his hands to his feet. The child, according to the lawsuit, "suffered bruising, choke marks, scrapes and cuts across his body" due to his treatment by the officers, and had to be "transported to a medical facility for medical treatment."

The suit alleged that the force used by Cosma and his colleague was "unreasonable and excessive" and that the young child was "unable to protect himself."
Cosma and his colleague then allegedly attempted to charge the child with "assault of a law enforcement officer third degree” and “resisting/interfering with arrest, detention or stop." But the suit said that prosecutors refused to take the case.

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