Federal suit filed against Indianapolis for tear gas use
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit after Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers used tear gas on protesters in May.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Indy 10 Black Lives Matter and three individual protesters.
“Excessive use of force against protesters chills free speech, and widens the rift of distrust between communities and the police that are sworn to serve them,” Ken Falk, legal director at the ACLU of Indiana, said in a statement. “Indianapolis should instead listen to demonstrators, build community trust, and transform policing and the criminal legal system.”
The suit says members of IMPD violated the First and Fourth amendments by using “tear gas, flash grenades, and pepper-ball projectiles.”
The suit also claims IMPD officers used rubber bullets. An IMPD spokesperson says the department does not use rubber bullets.
The suit requests a trial by jury and the award of damage to plaintiffs.