2016 trial set for Brown family’s suit against Ferguson

FILE PHOTO: Lesley McSpadden, (L) and Michael Brown senior (R) the parents of Michael Brown, listen as family attorney Daryl Parks announce they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Ferguson and former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, in Ferguson,Missouri on March 5, 2015. Photo courtesy Missourinet

ST. LOUIS (AP) A federal wrongful-death lawsuit by Michael Brown’s parents over his fatal shooting by a Ferguson police officer won’t be going to trial for at least another year.

A federal judge in St. Louis has scheduled an October 2016 trial in the case of Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden against the city of Ferguson, its former police chief and the white ex-officer, Darren Wilson, who killed the 18-year-old Brown.

Brown’s August 2014 death during a confrontation with Wilson led to sometimes-violent protests in Ferguson and other U.S. cities, spawning a national “Black Lives Matter” movement that seeks changes in how police deal with minorities.

An attorney for Ferguson and the other defendants has asked for the lawsuit to be thrown out.