ST. LOUIS • Three journalists who reported on the 2014 Ferguson riots for Al-Jazeera America filed suit Monday against St. Charles County and three police officers, claiming personal injuries and violations of their constitutional rights.

The suit by Ash-har Quraishi, Marla Cichowski and Sam Winslade in U.S. District Court in St. Louis names St. Charles County, Deputy Michael Anderson of the St. Charles Regional SWAT Team and two unidentified police officers as defendants.

The reporters claim Anderson tear-gassed them, and allege that police officers shot at them more than once, dismantled their equipment, ordered them to leave the scene of protests and ultimately tried to cover up their own behavior.

The reporters claim the actions toward them were unwarranted.

They seek payment of unspecified actual and punitive damages and expenses.

St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann said Monday that he thought the SWAT team had “acted professionally from beginning to end.”

“This (lawsuit) is something we are going to pursue aggressively. We want to totally clear our guys of any suspicion they did anything wrong,” he said.

Ehlmann said the officers’ actions were justified given that TV lights were being directed in their faces while rocks and bottles were being thrown.

The journalists make reference to such claims in their suit and say the allegations are false.

St. Charles County SWAT officers were among police from various jurisdictions assisting during protests and sometimes riots in Ferguson after the shooting of Michael Brown by then-Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson.

The suit cites incidents happening Aug. 13, 2014, in the 1300 block of Highmont Drive. At the time, Quraishi was a correspondent covering Ferguson for Al-Jazeera America, Cichowski was a field producer and Winslade a photojournalist, the lawsuit says. Quraishi and Cichowski are U.S. citizens; Winslade is from New Zealand but is a permanent U.S. resident.

Al-Jazeera America shut down the outlet’s cable and digital operations in April, citing an unsustainable business model.