ST. LOUIS (CN) - Two journalists who were arrested covering the Ferguson protests have settled their federal lawsuits against police - one for $8,500 and expungement of his record and one for expungement but no money.
The ACLU filed the lawsuits last year against the St. Louis County police on behalf of Gerald D. Yingst III of News2Share.com and Turkish reporter Bilgin Sasmaz.
Yingst was arrested in November, allegedly for ignoring failure to disperse orders from officers. He sued St. Louis County for false arrest, defamation and civil rights violations.
Sasmaz claimed that he was violently thrown to the ground for photographing St. Ann Police Officer Ray Albers, who pointed a gun at protesters in August. Albers eventually resigned.
Yingst and the ACLU will get $8,500 in his settlement and both journalists agreed to dismiss their claims with prejudice once their records are expunged. The county agreed not to press charges against them.
" Bilgin and Trey are relieved to put these incidents behind them and to no longer have the possibility of criminal charges hanging over their heads," said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. "We are gratified that St. Louis County acknowledges that they should never have been arrested."
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