Al Jazeera Journalists Settle Teargassing Lawsuit

According to The Associated Press, three Al Jazeera journalists who were teargassed during a protest in Ferguson, Miss., following Michael Brown’s death in 2014, have settled a lawsuit with the country whose SWAT team fired the tear gas. Ferguson became a focal point for a racial injustice movement after Brown, who was black, was fatally shot by a white police officer. The Al Jazeera journalists — correspondent Ash-har Quraishi, producer Marla Cichowski and photojournalist Sam Winslade — were preparing for a live broadcast when the St. Charles County SWAT team officers fired tear gas toward them. Lathrop GPM, the law firm that represented the journalists, said video evidence contradicted police claims that they used tear gas in response to protesters throwing bottles and rocks at officers. In addition, the firm said several videos showed that there were no protesters in the area, and no one was throwing anything at police. St. Charles County agreed to pay $280,000, according to Lathrop GPM.