All across America at present, there is a clamour for change in how policing is both utilised and evaluated in the country. Excessive force and needless violence have become a primary talking point across the country, with various states even going as far as to look at ways to defund their police forces and divert the resources to other industries. Indeed, the time for people and protestors putting up with excessive force looks to be over. Earlier in June, a group of five protestors in Portland filed lawsuits against the city.
The argument is that in numerous cases since late May, all five of those pushing the case have been attacked with by police using what was described as “military-style weapons” while they engaged in peaceful protest/ The civil lawsuits have been placed with the Multnomah County Circuit Court, and alleges battery and seeks damages of $950,000 in compensation.
Each plaintiff is also requesting that the judge place an injunction on police being able to use projective launching weaponry. The attorney representing the protestors, Michael Fuller, said: “These lawsuits are not anti-police. It’s against police brutality against unarmed protesters. That is the narrow scope of what we’re trying to accomplish. I don’t want it to be seen as we’re promoting looting or rioting and we’re not anti-police. We just want — you know, people have a right to go out there and peacefully protest.”
Protests have sparked across the country and across Oregon after the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis citizen who was killed by a white police officer. Having had his neck kneeled on for close to nine minutes, Floyd was recorded as shouting “I can’t breathe.”
This led to continual protesting across the country, and it has seen a violent response in some quarters from law enforcement. Tear gas was used on protestors, something that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler had called “ugly” and spoke about potentially pushing for a ban on the gas. The month of June has also seen Portland’s Police Chief, Jami Resch, step down amid the protests.
The individuals pushing for the case including Mason Lake, a photographer who was documenting the protest, as well as Brandon Farley, Daniel Michaels, and Julia Leggett. More to come as the case continues and a decision is made.
Each individual involved stated that at no stage did they show aggression towards law enforcement or anyone else involved in the protests.
Citation
https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-protesters-lawsuits-police-brutality/
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