[JURIST] The parents of Michael Brown [JURIST news archive] filed a civil lawsuit [complaint] Thursday under Missouri’s wrongful death statute against the city of Ferguson, Missouri [official website]. In addition to the city of Ferguson, the complaint also names former police chief Thomas Jackson, and former police officer Darren Wilson as defendants in the suit. The complaint asserts that Michael Brown was “unjustifiably shot and killed … using an unnecessary and unreasonable amount of force in violation of [Brown’s] constitutionally guaranteed right to life … [as well as] his well-established civil rights protected both by the [US] Constitution and the state of Missouri Constitution.” Through the lawsuit, the Brown family is seeking financial compensation for damages suffered, as well as attorneys fees and costs, and declaratory and injunctive relief.

The Ferguson Police Department has been heavily criticized after the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown last August and the police response to protests. The US Department of Justice report released in March cleared [JURIST report] the former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson from federal prosecution for Brown’s death. Former Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] additionally stated that the report shows [press release] that racial disparities in police practices could not be alternatively explained other than through racial bias, which he says is proven through statistics and an examination of records and emails. Last October Amnesty International reported that police in Ferguson committed human rights abuses [JURIST report] against peaceful protesters last August. Also in October a federal judge ruled [JURIST report] that a tactic employed by the Ferguson police to control protesters, in which protesters had to constantly keep moving, is unconstitutional because it prevented protesters from peacefully assembling on public sidewalks.