Black Lives Matter Lawsuit Says LA Curfews Are Unlawful

Los Angeles’ Black Lives Matter chapter recently filed a lawsuit against the city challenging the recent protest curfews.

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, Black Lives Matter protests erupted around the country. Thousands of people took to the streets to call for justice and action against police brutality.

In response to these protests, as well as individuals who have started riots around the country, Los Angeles county reportedly implemented a curfew for more than 10 million people in Southern California.

According to a recent lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles Black Lives Matter organization, these curfews are unlawful and unconstitutional. The organization seeks injunctions lifting the curfew orders and declaring the curfew unconstitutional under the First, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.

On May 25, several Minneapolis police officers arrested a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase cigarettes. As captured on video by a bystander, officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds despite outcry from Floyd and various onlookers. As a result, Floyd died.

In the days that followed, Minneapolis residents expressed their outrage over the blatant show of excessive force by Chauvin. Initially, the Hennepin County medical examiner determined that asphyxiation – i.e. strangulation – did not play a role in Floyd’s death. However, an independent autopsy determined that Floyd died from “asphyxiation from sustained pressure” caused by Chauvin kneeling on his neck. Regardless, both autopsies ruled that Floyd’s death was a homicide.

Since the incident, Chauvin and three other officers who stood by during the killing were fired from the Minneapolis police force. Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder and manslaughter. The other officers, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, have been charged with aiding and abetting both second degree murder and manslaughter.

Although the former officers have been charged for the murder of Floyd, Black Lives Matter protests continue in Minneapolis and around the country as people call for an end to police brutality.

The protests have been used to call attention to the insidious issue and the countless Black Americans who have died at the hands of police officers around the country.

Unfortunately, violence has broken out against protesters, police officers and businesses in the resulting chaos. Although these instances are in the minority amongst mostly peaceful protests, many cities and counties have implemented curfews.

Through the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, Black Lives Matter of Los Angeles and several independent students, residents, reporters, and others recently took legal action against one of these curfews instituted in Los Angeles county.

According to the plaintiffs, the curfew orders have made it impossible for law abiding people to participate in peaceful protests during the night hours. Even “entirely innocuous” activities such as grocery shopping, exercise and visiting loved ones have been prohibited under the curfew orders.

“Whether or not Defendants were justified in imposing curfews in the immediate aftermath of the largely peaceful protests that occurred over the last several days, at this juncture the curfews are unconstitutional,” Black Lives Matter Los Angeles said in the lawsuit.

The Black Lives Matter plaintiffs argue that the curfew orders violate the First, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments which guarantee the right to petition, peaceful assembly, free speech, and more.

“Their truly extraordinary suppression of literally all political protest after dark plainly violates the First Amendment,” the Black Lives Matter lawsuit argues. “Their blanket restriction on all movement during those hours violates the Constitution’s protection for freedom of movement.”

In their Black Lives Matter lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek injunctive relief reversing the curfew orders.

Other Legal Action Following Black Lives Matter Protests

The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit in Southern California, also took action in Minnesota when they filed a class action lawsuit alleging police brutality against reporters and violations of the First Amendment.

According to the class action, the Minneapolis Police Department – whose former officers have been charged in the murder of Floyd – unleashed rubber bullets, market rounds and tear gas on reporters.

Allegedly, freedom of press has been disrespected by the department – including an incident where CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew were arrested on live television.

Has your city implemented curfews in response to widespread Black Lives Matter protests? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Black Lives Matter Los Angeles is represented by Ahilan T. Arulanantham, Peter J. Eliasberg, Peter Bibring, Eva Bitran, Dae Keun Kwon, Andrienna Wong, Ana Najera Mendoza, and Liga Chia of ACLU Foundation of Southern California.

The Los Angeles Black Lives Matter Lawsuit is Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles, et al. v. Eric Garcetti, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-04940-PSG-PVC, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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