Police, civil rights group in $336K accord over 2020 protest

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

2 hours ago

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A city and two law enforcement agencies in a North Carolina county will pay $336,000 to a group of plaintiffs to settle a lawsuit stemming from a 2020 protest in which demonstrators were pepper-sprayed during a get-out-the-vote rally.

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and a Chicago-based law firm announced the agreement in a news release on Wednesday. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in November 2020 and named as defendants the city of Graham and Police Chief Kristi Cole, 15 police officers, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson and 15 deputies.

“It is outrageous that people marching to the polls to cast their ballot were met with police brutality. The right to gather and march in support of a shared cause is at the core of the First Amendment,” Chantal Stevens, executive director of the ACLU of North Carolina, said in the news release. “This agreement is a step in the right direction, but it’s insufficient to reckon with the violence and trauma that these community members endured at the hands of police.”

Neither Graham Town Manager Megan Garner nor Acting Alamance County Attorney Debra Bechtel immediately returned telephone calls seeking comment Wednesday. The police department said in a news release that while the city admitted no guilt, “it was in the best interest of our community to equitably settle the lawsuit and avoid the expense of extended litigation.”

-snip-


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-north-carolina-raleigh-american-civil-liberties-union-lawsuits-e87857ce266e759f24b7800475ab5344

[IronLionZion]

1. I vote like someone got pepper sprayed in the face for my right to do so

so yeah, I made sure to research local candidates and voted in my Dem primary this month.



I get that marches need permits to block streets but there's no need to pepper spray nonviolent people like that.

[iluvtennis]

2. Great news! n/t

[Traildogbob]

3. Tax payer money

The money should come from the police pockets. It’s not like the state is saturated in cash for this shit. We did not assault any damn body.

[Eugene]

5. An earlier report says liability insurance will pay nearly half.

The settlement will be structured, so the effects won't be as obvious.

[Traildogbob]

6. That good to know

Thanks.

[SunImp]

4. Good

[OldBaldy1701E]

7. Ah yes, more of that 'we don't admit guilt but...' crap

We really need to remove that ability from our justice system completely. It demeans the entire concept.