Indianapolis BLM Lawsuit Alleges Excessive Tear Gas

Indy 10 Black Lives Matter and three demonstrators have filed a BLM lawsuit against the city of Indianapolis over claims that they participated in a peaceful protest against police violence and were met with unconstitutional violence by city officials.

Bre Robinson, Asiat Bassett, and Shaniece Lewis explain that, after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, they joined protesters around the country in protesting what they see as an epidemic of police brutality against black people.

The Black Lives Matter demonstrators say that they faced further evidence of this brutality as the police and the city of Indianapolis brutalized peaceful protesters with tear gas, pepper balls, batons, and other crowd control methods.

They state that the problem of police brutality is just one symptom of institutionalized racism in the United States. According to the BLM Indianapolis protest lawsuit, protesters around the country demanded restructuring of the police force and changes to police practices.

Speaking specifically to the Indianapolis protests, Robinson, Bassett, and Lewis note that the demonstrations began on May 29 and are still ongoing. The protests were organized with Indy 10 BLM, an organization whose goal is to support the black community.

The organization explains that one of its chief concerns is to combat systemic racism present in policing and the criminal justice system. Allegedly, one way in which Indy 10 Black Lives Matter advances these goals is to hold protests, conferences, and meetings with political groups.

Many protests took place in downtown Indianapolis and have been almost entirely peaceful. The demonstrators do note that there was “limited and isolated vandalism, looting, and violence on May 29 and 30.” They explain that, despite being peaceful, these instances led to several curfews to be imposed by the Indianapolis mayor, beginning on May 31.

Despite the largely peaceful nature of the protests, the police did not respond peacefully, says the George Floyd protest lawsuit. In particular, the demonstrators and Indy 10 BLM say that the police used unnecessary violence on those at the May 29 protest.

The demonstrators say that they held a peaceful day of protests and walked towards the State House. The peaceful protesters say that they were blocked by police around Market and Illinois Streets. Allegedly, police showed up to the protests in “battle-ready” riot gear uniforms and some officers were accompanied by police dogs.

The demonstrators explain that they tried to go back to Monument Circle, where they were blocked by another group of police officers. Allegedly, the police attacked demonstrators with irritants like tear gas, pepper balls shot mechanically, and other devices like flash grenades and rubber bullets. Some protesters reportedly tried to escape.

The Indianapolis police brutality lawsuit says that these acts of violence were unjustified. Allegedly, there was no need for them, because the protesters were peaceful.

Additionally, the demonstrators stress that they were not adequately warned that they needed to disperse nor were they told that chemical weapons would be used.

Similarly, the next day, the demonstrators were met with more of the same kinds of violence as the peaceful protests continued. One police officer stated that the assembly was illegal, which was not true, say the protesters.

The BLM protest police violence lawsuit explains that that on May 30, the Indianapolis mayor spoke with demonstrators about his concerns, but did not mention the police department’s use of force against demonstrators. Instead, he expressed concern about the property damage that had occurred during other protests. Though Indy 10 BLM asked him to commit to not using force against peaceful protesters in the future, he did not make the commitment.

According to the Indianapolis BLM class action lawsuit, the city of Indianapolis violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution by interfering with and trying to stop lawful protests, and violated the Fourth Amendment by using unreasonable force.

Now, the protesters ask the court to declare that the city violated the First and Fourth Amendments, award damages to Indy 10 BLM and the protesters, and to declare an injunction barring the city from continuing to interfere with protests through the use of unreasonable force.

Has your community made any changes to police practices in light of the Black Lives Matter movement? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Indy 10 BLM and the demonstrators are represented by Kenneth J. Falk, Gavin M. Rose, and Stevie J. Pactor of the ACLU of Indiana.

The Indianapolis Black Lives Matter Police Violence Lawsuit is Indy 10 Black Lives Matter, et al. v. The City of Indianapolis, Case No. 1:20-cv-01660-JMS-DLP, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

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