MINNEAPOLIS — The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of protesters who were injured during the George Floyd protests.
The lawsuit was filed against the City of Minneapolis, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, police union head Bob Kroll, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, and Minnesota State Patrol Colonel Matthew Langer.
The lawsuit alleges that Minneapolis Police and State Patrol used "unnecessary and excessive force to suppress the people's First Amendment rights to assemble peacefully and speak out against injustice."
“No one should face tear gassing, foam bullets or pepper spray while exercising their right to peacefully protest,” said ACLU-MN Legal Director Teresa Nelson. “That law enforcement here followed their typical pattern of using indiscriminate force rather than respecting the First Amendment, especially following the brutal murder of George Floyd by four of their own, is disgraceful and an affront to our Constitution.”
The ACLU said in a press release that protesters were teargassed, pepper-sprayed and shot with foam bullets and flashbangs to intimidate them, and that law enforcement often fired without warning.
