WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Police brutality protestors say that is exactly what happened to them in Washington D.C.
Eight plaintiffs filed a lawsuit March 25 in D.C. federal court against the District and its police chief, Peter Newsham. They say unknown officers responded to their peaceful protest on Swann Street with excessive force.
They were trapped on the street after officers confined them there then were hit with pepper spray, the suit says.
“Defendants’ unlawful force against Plaintiffs and other demonstrators was not limited to chemical agents,” the suit says. “Officers unnecessarily used shields, batons, or their hands and feet to push, strike, or beat demonstrators on Swann Street who had done nothing to warrant such a response.
“In one such instance, a John Doe Officer used his baton to strike Plaintiff Surio in her chest and abdomen so hard that she sustained welts and contusions, even though she offered no resistance and complied with the Officer’s commands.”
Those arrested were “crammed” into spaces filled with other detainees and were denied food, water and restrooms, the suit says.