Phoenix Police Class Action Alleges Cops Violently Beat Anti-Trump Protestors

Phoenix Police Department Unnecessary Force Class Action Overview:

• Who: Four people who protested against Trump in Phoenix are suing the City of Phoenix and Police Chief Jeri Williams.
• Why: The pair are accused, alongside a slew of police officers, of violating protesters’ First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights when they used force to end a demonstration five years ago.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Phoenix, Arizona.

A class action lawsuit alleging Phoenix police officers used unnecessary force against anti-Trump protesters in 2017, causing broken bones and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, can go to a jury trial.

This week, an Arizona federal judge ruled that the class action complaint filed by four protestors and two non-profits against the City of Phoenix and Police Chief Jeri Williams can be heard by a jury trial, meaning plaintiffs will be allowed to share their testimonies, the Phoenix New Times reports.

The complaint was originally filed in September 2018 and alleges that the city, police department and a slew of officers violated protesters’ First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights when cops violently ended a free speech demonstration with unnecessary force.

The complaint relates to police actions on Aug. 22, 2017, when former President Donald Trump held a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center attended by supporters and protestors.

Police set up a zone for anti-Trump protestors. However, heavily-armed Phoenix police officers fired hundreds of rubber bullets and used tear gas canisters, batons and pepper balls against the protesters in this zone, court records show. Plaintiffs say they suffered broken bones and lasting psychological harm. 

The city and its police department have defended the use of force, saying it was a proportional response to a violent provocation. 

Phoenix Protestors Seek Medical Expenses, Damages

The four officers named in the civil lawsuit, but also city leadership, were never disciplined.

The Phoenix Fire Department reported 53 emergency medical calls that night. About a dozen people were hospitalized.

The protestors are seeking reimbursements for medical expenses, attorneys fees and punitive damages, which means a jury could award more money as it sees fit.

The Phoenix Police Department has since been placed under the microscope of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Since August 2021, the DOJ has been conducting an investigation into the Phoenix Police Department and the city of Phoenix for a host of allegations of police misconduct, excessive violence and retaliation against protesters.

A trial date has not yet been scheduled.

Police Departments Face Lawsuits Nationwide

The lawsuit mirrors a number of similar class actions around the country. 

In 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class action lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis and several officials associated with the Minneapolis Police Department and the Department of Public Safety on behalf of members of the press who claim to have been targeted and attacked by law enforcement during protests against police brutality.

Also in 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of five Des Moines racial justice protesters who it alleges were unlawfully arrested and banned from entering state Capitol grounds following an altercation between Black Lives Matter supporters and law enforcement.

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