Civil rights attorneys file lawsuit against Dallas, Chief Hall and Police Department following protests

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to Dallas, a team of civil rights attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall and the city.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three black Dallas-area residents — Brandon Saenz, Vincent Doyle and Tasia Williams — who were seriously injured in protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death touched off protests around the country, including in Dallas, where demonstrations against police brutality have been ongoing since May 29.

A team of civil rights attorneys, led by Daryl Washington, said they are seeking monetary relief for their clients’ injuries. They also filed a temporary restraining order on Thursday to halt the police department’s use of less-lethal ammunition for crowd control.

“Police have repeatedly used extreme and lethal force against these crowds over the past thirteen days, targeting peaceful, non-threatening protesters and bystanders with tear gas, smoke bombs, flash-bangs, Pepper Balls, mace, and what are known as ‘kinetic impact projectiles,’” the lawsuit said. “And without regard to the ongoing global pandemic involving … COVID-19, police have tear-gassed and smoke-bombed protesters.”

Hall has been under fire for the crowd-control tactics, which led to an emergency Dallas City Council meeting last week. The lawsuit alleges the Police Department has been purchasing less-lethal ammunition since at least 2013.

The lawsuit also said “officers have shown time and time again that they have never been properly trained — if at all.”

Saenz and Doyle were both injured in downtown Dallas in separate protests. Saenz, 26, said he was peacefully protesting when he was hit in the face on May 30. He lost his eye, seven teeth and fractured the left side of his face.

Doyle, 21, an aspiring photojournalist who was there to document the demonstrations, said he was in downtown Dallas on May 31 with about 200 other people when police launched tear gas into the crowd.

“He also witnessed people experiencing homelessness who were shot with rubber bullets along with the protesters, as others tried to give aide,” the lawsuit said.

Then, as he moved out of the way, police fired a rubber bullet, hitting him in the face, according to the lawsuit. The injury left him with 40% of his vision in his left eye and smashed his cheekbone, the lawsuit states.

Tasia Williams marched on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge on June 1 with hundreds of protesters when law enforcement stopped the group and used a tactic known as kettling. Williams attempted to retreat and was hit in the leg, according to the lawsuit. Police initially deployed tear gas and shot less lethal ammunition into the crowd.

The lawsuit says police “ignored Ms. Williams’ medical needs but proceeded to arrest her regardless, zip-tying her hands behind her back, forcing her to lay on her stomach face down on the pavement for over 30 minutes.” Williams said she temporarily lost feeling in her leg from the injury and was unable to stand.

“The incident damaged Ms. Williams’ trust in police, the City, and government, and she has seen firsthand the very police brutality she showed up to protest,” the lawsuit said.

After the bridge incident, Hall announced that she would not file charges against the 674 protesters who were arrested that night.

In the filing, the attorneys said their clients’ “rights to participate in protests and demonstrations have already been chilled and continue to be suppressed by the threat of excessive force by the Dallas Police Department.”

Across the country, the use of less-lethal ammunition for crowd control is being challenged in federal courts. In Denver last week, a U.S. district judge ordered the Police Department to limit its use of chemical weapons and less-lethal ammunition in crowds, the Denver Post reported. Black Lives Matter-LA also is suing the Los Angeles Police Department in federal court, alleging police used excessive force on protesters and violated their civil rights, news outlets reported.

The Dallas Police Department did not respond to questions on whether it was planning to stop using less-lethal ammunition in crowds. It also did not provide a response from Hall to the lawsuit.

Sgt. Warren Mitchell, a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department, said police are aware of the lawsuit but deferred questions to the Dallas City Attorney’s office, which is reviewing the temporary restraining order.

According to the lawsuit, the city has 21 days to respond.

“It is the department’s policy to resolve incidents requiring law enforcement intervention in as humane and safe a manner as reasonably possible,” Mitchell said.