SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) – Springfield police officers have suppressed freedom of speech during protests against police killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, particularly during a July 29 march, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
Black Unity, individual members of Black Unity and others allege in a federal lawsuit that Springfield Police Department officials “took several unconstitutional measures to punish, prevent, or cool down plaintiffs’ First Amendment activities” during the march.
The lawsuit names the city, Chief Richard Lewis and more than two dozen individual officers of various ranks, The Register-Guard reported.
On July 29, the lawsuit alleged that police officers illegally detained people, worked with protesters and encouraged them to “mass and use violence against plaintiffs,” blocked roads to prevent the march and, among other things, used excessive force who violated the protesters’ rights and denied them equal protection.
The City of Springfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but officials are investigating the complaint.
The protest, which brought hundreds of people to the East Springfield neighborhood over a Halloween skeleton suspended from a noose in a nearby courtyard, among other things, was largely peaceful, but was marred by clashes with police and counter-protesters. The police arrested five demonstrators and one counter-protester.
Springfield hired violence expert Rick Braziel to conduct an outside investigation into police operations that night.
Police took similar action on June 26 when protesters marched in Springfield.
The lawsuit includes four claims under the first, fourth, and fourteenth amendments and the Civil Rights Act – unconstitutional restraint, excessive violence, unlawful arrest, and conspiracy to deprive civil liberties.
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