Ferguson Police's '5 Second Rule' Is Unconstitutional, Court Finds

Ferguson's protesters no longer have to keep moving if told to do so by police.

A federal judge decided on Monday that this so-called "five-second rule" imposed by police on Ferguson's protesters is unconstitutional.

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The judge, Catherine D. Perry of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, wrote in granting a preliminary injunction that "the practice of requiring peaceful demonstrators and others to walk, rather than stand still, violated the Constitution."

The rule refers to a tactic adopted August 18th by St. Louis area law enforcement, when officers at a roll call were instructed to tell protesters they had to keep moving, or face arrest. The tactic was used by top officials in the Highway Patrol, St. Louis County Police, and St. Louis City Police in the days and weeks that followed to disperse protesters who had gathered to protest the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. Read more...

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