DES PERES, Mo (KMOX/AP) - A 68-year-old woman has filed suit against the City of Des Peres and four of its officers, alleging police brutality.
Marvia Gray of Creve Coeur, Mo. and her son Derek Gray suffered serious and permanent injuries and her 43-year-old son, Derek, suffered a concussion, three shattered teeth and other injuries when they were arrested, according to the lawsuit. Their attorneys have released a 4-minute video of the incident, taken by someone in Sam's Club. That video is posted at the top of this page.
Marvia Gray purchased a large screen television at the Des Peres Sam's Club on Manchester Road, on March 23. When they discovered it wouldn't fit in their car, the son said he would pick it up later.
The Action Injury Law Group out of Chicago and local attorney William Dailey Jr. represents the Grays.
"Without any cause or provocation, and as caught on the video, the officers shoved and beat both Mrs. Gray and Derek Gray," says attorney Andrew Stroth of Action Injury Law Group.
The suit alleges when Derek went back, with the receipt, to pick up the television, there was a delay in giving it to him. A worker verified it was purchased, but according to the suit, one of the officers followed Derek to his car and then reported Gray had stolen the television.
Here is the lawsuit filing:
"Gray thought her son was about to be yet another black man, unjustifiably shot and killed by the police. Whether it's Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri or Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, we demand justice and accountability to prevent these tragic events from happening in our communities," Stroth says.
Here's a statement from the Des Peres Police Department:
The lawsuit filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court names the city and four police officers. It seeks unspecified damages.
Derek Gray lives in Virginia and works in security. His mother is in frail health with osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma and other ailments, Stroth said, so Derek Gray took leave from his job to care for her at her home in Creve Coeur, Missouri, another St. Louis suburb.
Marvia Gray said at a news conference that she watched in terror as the officers attacked her son.
“I said, ‘They’re going to kill him,’” Gray said. “I could see my son dying before my eyes.”
John Bowman, president of the St. Louis County chapter of the NAACP, accused the officers of “bullying.”
“In St. Louis and in the United States, when a black person interacts with a white police officer, the immediate concern is: Will he be treated with respect, or will they be allowed to make a call safely, or will they be harassed, beaten and killed because of the color of our skin?” Bowman said.
Marvia Gray was charged with municipal crimes of interfering with an officer and resisting arrest. Derek Gray was not charged.
The lawsuit said Marvia Gray suffered injuries to her tailbone, back, shoulder, knees and arms. Derek Gray’s injuries included an open head wound that required stitches and metal staples, the lawsuit said.