On June 2, 2020, 400 protesters in Charlotte, North Carolina took to the streets for George Floyd. Little did they know, a year later they’d be at the helm of a class action lawsuit suing Charlotte-Mecklenburg police! Why?
The lawsuit says that police punished protesters with a “premeditated and violent attack.” They used a military technique called “kettling,” where police “corral” protesters to a space, then trap them on all sides so they can use violent force.
And it’s actually all on video.
"Hammer their ass with gas,” one officer bragged. “Hands up, don’t shoot! Wave goodbye, they’re all about to get gassed." And although the abuse of power would have been unnecessary regardless, the lawsuit asserts that the protesters actually weren’t even posing a threat!
One protester, Corey Newton, is so traumatized that he can barely even interact with an officer, or drive uptown where the protest attack occurred.
Now, the protesters are seeking millions in compensation for the psychological and physical trauma they’ve endured.
Not all of us can challenge the system by filing a class action lawsuit, but we can learn our rights when it comes to police interactions and protests. They brutalize us for protesting their abuses of power, which is why we must abolish the system as it stands so they won't have any power to abuse.