Black Lives Matter Seeks Emergency Order Banning LAPD From Using Rubber Bullets, Batons On Protesters
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Black Lives Matter filed an emergency application this week in federal court for a temporary restraining order which would ban Los Angeles police from using rubber bullets and baton strikes during protests.
The LAPD has until Friday afternoon to submit an argument in opposition to the request from BLM-LA.
On June 5, BLM-LA filed a federal lawsuit against the LAPD and Chief Michel Moore, alleging the recent mass detention of more than 2,600 peaceful protesters was a violation of their civil rights.
On Sunday, BLM-LA filed a 59-page amendment to the lawsuit, which included photos of protesters who had allegedly been injured by rubber bullets and batons, along with a description of the cramped conditions that demonstrators were held in on buses, sometimes for several hours.
Earlier this week, a 22-year-old woman separately sued the LAPD claiming she was as detained for violating curfew during a downtown L.A. protest and had her wrists zip-tied tightly for six hours as she and other protesters were packed onto a bus, during which time they were denied food and water.
On Thursday, a former anti-apartheid activist from South Africa announced he was also planning to file a lawsuit against the city after he alleges he was struck by a rubber bullet during a protest in the Fairfax District, which forced him to undergo emergency surgery.
BLM-LA filed an emergency request for a temporary restraining order Wednesday. The request specifically calls for LAPD to end the use of rubber bullets and baton strikes for crowd control purposes. Its requesting that officers only be allowed to use batons when attacked.
Furthermore, it demands that protesters who are not charged with anything more than a misdemeanor be cited and released without being placed on buses. If arrested protesters are placed on buses, the order asks that they not be handcuffed for more than 30 minutes and they not be refused access to water, bathrooms or medical care.
The initial federal lawsuit was filed by BLM, the L.A. chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the L.A. Community Action Network.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
