Black Lives Matter activist sues Baton Rouge over arrest

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson sued the city of Baton Rouge and police officials Thursday, saying officers responded in a "militarized and aggressive manner" in arresting him and other people protesting a police shooting death.

Mckesson was among nearly 200 protesters arrested in Baton Rouge following the July 5 shooting death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot during a struggle with two white police officers.

The federal class-action lawsuit, which names two other arrested protesters as plaintiffs, accuses police of using excessive force and violating the protesters' constitutional rights.

The suit said police advanced against protesters while wearing military gear and gas masks and brandishing assault weapons alongside armored vehicles.

Officers threatened peaceful protesters by pointing their weapons directly at them, the suit stated.

"Defendants used excessive force in attacking, battering, beating, and assaulting plaintiffs and class members without provocation or the need for defense," the suit stated.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has defended the police response to the protests, saying their use of riot gear and weaponry was appropriate.

The governor, a Democrat who comes from a family of sheriffs, also noted a police officer had teeth knocked out by a rock during protests.

Sterling's shooting was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely on the internet.

Mckesson, a Baltimore resident, was arrested July 9 near Baton Rouge police headquarters on a charge of obstructing a highway.

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore has said Mckesson is one of roughly 100 arrested protesters who will not be prosecuted by his office for the same charge.