Police said then that they needed to be able to clear streets and send protesters home and that protesters against police were treated no differently than any others.

The Sept. 15, 2017, incident with former St. Louis County substitute teacher Laura Jones was caught on video. Jones' suit, filed Monday, claims she was pepper-sprayed while trying to hear police instructions and was knocked to the ground by police riot shields. The pepper spray triggered an asthma attack, and police would not hand over her inhaler, the suit says. She waited for officers to transport her to a police station for several hours, was held in a cell there for 5½ hours and spent 11 more hours in jail, the suit says. The incident left her with PTSD, anxiety and depression and caused her to lose her teaching job when she had a panic attack in class, the suit says.