A Minnesota woman is seeking class-action status for a lawsuit against the Minneapolis Police Department on behalf of all the protesters who gathered in the city over the weekend.
Annette Williams, a black woman who attended the protests following the death of George Floyd, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that she was among the group of protesters that was hit by pepper spray shot out of a squad car by an officer for no apparent reason. She claimed that the irritant forced her to remove her mask, putting her at risk of catching the coronavirus.
“Williams, an African-American female, was peacefully protesting police tactics against communities of color on a public sidewalk within the city when, without notice, a member of the Minneapolis Police Department drove past and sprayed a chemical respiratory irritant on Ms. Williams and her daughter,” reads the complaint, which was obtained by the Minnesota Reformer.
“The chemical irritant caused Ms. Williams and others to remove their face masks worn to protect against the transmission of COVID-19 and to begin to cough uncontrollably,” the complaint added.
Annette Williams of St. Paul filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Minneapolis Police Department, alleging an officer “drove past and sprayed a chemical respiratory irritant” while she was walking down the sidewalk. Class action status sought. https://t.co/QnHIYKAVsO
— Tony Webster (@webster) June 3, 2020
David Madgett, Williams’s attorney, said a video of the event highlighted in the lawsuit was captured by a reporter from the Star Tribune and posted to Twitter. He added, “These types of acts against peaceful protesters have been well-documented, and our goal is to get a court order that says MPD cannot use these tactics against peaceful protesters.”
Well THAT was uncalled for. pic.twitter.com/Qdu4LyrZ9U
— Jennifer Brooks (@stribrooks) May 29, 2020
If the lawsuit is granted class-action status, it will be filed on behalf of “all peaceful protesters who have been injured as a result of (the Minneapolis Police Department’s) actions and who have thereafter been reluctant to speak out against police violence against citizens.”
If approved, the lawsuit would represent “hundreds of people who cannot or will not be able to afford to retain counsel and litigate their cases through to judgment.”
The Minneapolis Police Department is facing at least one other class-action lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the department on behalf of the reporters who have been detained or injured by police while covering the protests.
Cities across the nation have witnessed protests against police brutality and racial injustice following the death of Floyd. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
