Ferguson, Missouri, agrees to pay $4.5 million to settle ‘debtors’ prison’ lawsuit

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis suburb where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of operating a so-called debtors’ prison. The legal nonprofit ArchCity Defenders announced the settlement Tuesday with the city of Ferguson, Missouri. The agreement calls for the money to be paid out to more than 15,000 people who were jailed between Feb. 8, 2010, and Dec. 30, 2022, for failing to pay fines, fees and other court costs. Michael Brown, a Black teenager, was fatally shot by Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. Wilson was not charged but the shooting prompted a federal investigation of court and policing practices.