Documentary filmmakers sue over arrest in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS — Two documentary filmmakers are suing the city of St. Louis and three police officers, saying one of them was cursed at and beaten and they were both sprayed with chemicals when they were arrested during a protest following the acquittal of a white former police officer in the killing of a black man.

Drew and Jennifer Burbridge of Kansas City, Missouri, filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday, alleging their constitutional rights were violated when they were arrested, taunted and assaulted by St. Louis officers.

Koran Addo, a spokesman for St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, declined comment Thursday.

The Burbridges were among about 120 people taken into custody on Sept. 17, two days after a judge ruled that Jason Stockley was not guilty of first-degree murder in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith.

The Sept. 17 protest turned unruly when some demonstrators hurled items at police and broke downtown windows. Police used a process known as “kettling,” in which lines of officers move protesters into a limited area. Police said when they ordered the crowd to disperse and that those who failed to comply were arrested.

The Burbridges’ lawsuit says they didn’t hear an order to disperse and that when police began to converge, they wanted to leave but were blocked in. The suit says police would not allow them to leave.