Judge: Testimony about St. Louis police conduct during protests 'very, very concerning'

ST. LOUIS • A federal judge being asked in a lawsuit to regulate police conduct on Wednesday called testimony from people claiming St. Louis police beat, pepper-sprayed and arrested them during recent protests “very, very concerning.”

Qualifying her comments by saying lawyers for the city of St. Louis had only time to respond with partial testimony from one witness, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry also questioned whether solutions proposed by the ACLU suit would require her to “micro-manage things” or be any more enforceable than issues raised by a 2014 federal case in which police agreed to provide a reasonable warning before using tear gas.

The testimony came during a hearing over whether Perry should issue a preliminary injunction regulating police activity before the underlying lawsuit, filed last month, is heard.

The suit says police used chemical agents without warning against protesters and others. It also says that protesters, spectators and members of the press were arrested in a police “kettle” Sept. 17 without warning and without allowing any escape.

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