Re: Protesters File Lawsuit Against D.C. Police After Inauguration Day Arrests
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Your buddy was arrested Fri.
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Date: January 21, 2017 11:37PM
Luke Kuhn Wrote:
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> After D.C Police made 217 arrests on Inauguration
> Day, charging all of them with rioting, lawyers
> for protesters have filed a lawsuit over alleged
> false arrests and excessive force.
> There were clashes throughout Inauguration Day
> between riot police and protesters, a minority of
> whom engaged in activities like smashing windows
> and setting fires.
> The lawsuit stems from arrests that occurred at
> 12th and L Street NW, where officers "kettled" a
> group of protesters, a crowd control tactic in
> which officers surround people and prevent or
> curtail their exit around 10:30 a.m.
> This happened shortly after police had
> "preliminary information" that these were the
> members of a "group acting in a concerted effort
> engaged in acts of vandalism and several instances
> of destruction of property," according to an MPD
> statement, and that it responded swiftly to
> contain the violence.
> The lawsuit alleges that police then
> "indiscriminately and repeatedly" used chemical
> irritants, batons, and flash-bang grenades against
> the people inside the kettle, which included
> "members of the media, attorneys, legal observers,
> and medics," as well as protesters who did not
> destroy any private property.
> "All we deployed was pepper spray and sting
> balls," says MPD spokesperson Sean Hickman. MPD
> has denied using flash-bang grenades against
> protesters, a claim countered by eyewitnesses on
> the scene and multiple media reports.
> Interim D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said in a
> news conference yesterday that he was very, very
> pleased" by his officers' response. Mayor Muriel
> Bowser also issued her support for the law
> enforcement officers who "have handled crowds and
> this event."
> Arraignments for protesters charged with rioting
> will begin at 1 p.m. today at D.C. Superior Court.
> A band arrived outside the court where crowds were
> gathering.
Cops are looking for you now.