This. Is. Huge!! The ACLU is suing the Baton Rouge PD

ACLU sues Baton Rouge Police
By Mycah Hatfield
Connect

ACLU lawsuit
ACLU lawsuit

Local organizing groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana filed a lawsuit today against the Baton Rouge Police Department for violating the First Amendment rights of demonstrators who were protesting peacefully against the killing of Alton Sterling.

The suit alleges that the BRPD's excessive show of force had a chilling effect on protesters' Constitutional right to assemble and protest.

The case is co-counseled by Sima Atri, staff attorney at the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice and cooperating counsel Ron Wilson on behalf of on behalf of Black Youth Project 100 and the Louisiana chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

The lawsuit alleges that the police used excessive force, physical and verbal abuse, and wrongful arrests to disperse protesters who were gathered peacefully to speak out against the police killing of Alton Sterling. Eyewitness accounts recorded by plaintiffs in the suit show police in full riot gear with assault rifles, lunging and grabbing at peacefully assembled people and throwing them to the ground.

“[The police response] made me afraid to protest. Seeing the way the police were manhandling folks caused me to hide, scream out of fear, and finally flee for my safety. I had to run. A peaceful demonstration should never be like that,” expressed Crystal Williams, local resident and organizer with North Baton Rouge Matters, “I feel like speech is my most powerful tool to ensure my community and my family are safe. But now I feel totally silenced.”


[link to www.katc.com]