One other protester is suing Denver and its police chief over actions taken throughout the 2020 racial justice demonstrations, this time as a result of officers threw a flash-bang grenade at him.
Robert Dayton joined protesters on Could 31 — the fourth day of George Floyd demonstrations in Denver — and police shot him with pepper balls, based on the federal lawsuit he filed Thursday.
As protests continued, Dayton sat down within the crowd close to Colfax Avenue and Emerson Road, the place the protesters confronted a line of cops. Video from a news helicopter exhibits an officer throw a flash-bang grenade on the group, and it struck Dayton within the elbow and seared his eyes, the lawsuit states.
Officers didn’t give a warning previous to throwing the flash-bang, the lawsuit alleges.
“When Mr. Dayton was hit with the flash-bang grenade, he was not partaking in any property destruction, committing any crime, threatening any regulation enforcement officer (or anybody else), or making an attempt to flee arrest,” the lawsuit states. “When Mr. Dayton was hit with the flash-bang grenade, he was peacefully protesting.”
The lawsuit names the town of Denver, Denver police Chief Paul Pazen, former Cmdr. Patrick Phelan and 4 unidentified officers as defendants. The lawsuit states that Denver police coverage didn’t present sufficient parameters to be used of flash-bang grenades and didn’t correctly prepare its officers to make use of them, inflicting Dayton’s damage.
“It’s completely outrageous that Denver would let its officers use flash-bang grenades, on which they haven’t any coaching and insurance policies, towards peaceable protesters,” Dayton’s legal professional, Andy McNulty, stated in a information launch. “It’s a miracle that Mr. Dayton wasn’t killed by the bomb that was thrown immediately at him.”
“This lawsuit seeks to impose a modicum of accountability on these officers who repeatedly brutalized protesters,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit not solely asks for financial damages but additionally asks the court docket to ban Denver police from utilizing chemical brokers, projectiles and flash-bangs towards protesters, amongst different coverage adjustments.
The lawsuit is one in every of a number of filed towards the town related to police conduct throughout the 2020 protests. A federal jury on March 25 discovered Denver violated 12 protesters’ civil rights and awarded $14 million to the plaintiffs. Town has additionally paid $1.3 million in settlements to injured protesters.
