Ferguson protester faces four years' jail over charges of kicking SUVBrittany Ferrell accused by St Louis police of causing $5,000 damage to car as driver forced her way through demonstrators at Michael Brown anniversaryA protest leader in Ferguson, Missouri, could face up to four years in prison after being charged with a felony for allegedly kicking a vehicle as it ploughed through a line of peaceful demonstrators who were blocking a highway.
Brittany Ferrell was accused of causing damage worth more than $5,000 to the SUV as its driver forced her way through the group, which had gathered on Interstate 70 near Ferguson during events to mark the anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, by a police officer.
Ferrell, 26, was charged with first-degree property damage, which is a class D felony in Missouri. She was also charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace, according to Bob McCulloch, the prosecuting attorney for St Louis county, who oversaw the grand jury inquiry into Brown’s death. Ferrell was released on a $10,000 bond on Wednesday.
Ferrell’s wife, Alexis Templeton, was charged with misdemeanour assault for allegedly punching the driver through her vehicle’s window, and misdemeanour charges similar to Ferrell’s for alleged trespass and disturbing the peace. Templeton, 21, has also been released.
The charges prompted a furious reaction among the wider Black Lives Matter protest movement. Brittany Packnett, an activist who sat on President Obama’s White House taskforce on police reform, said several demonstrators were struck by the vehicle.
“Feet don’t cause $5K worth of damage to cars,” Packnett said on Twitter. “McCulloch meant ‘drive over’, not past. They were almost hit.”
Soon after being released on Wednesday Templeton was defiant. “I’m not worried & y’all shouldn’t be either,” she said on Twitter. “We gon get free whether they like it or not!” She urged St Louis county police department to “quit lying”.
...more at linkhttp://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015 ... are_btn_tw