Filed Date: Dec. 30, 2021
Case Ongoing
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This case was filed by racial justice protesters for alleged abuse during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and continued violence during the January 2021 protests at the California State Capitol, where the plaintiffs alleged white supremacist and pro-police groups were allowed to demonstrate unharmed while the police inflicted violence on residents who showed up to support Black lives. On November 30, 2021, an individual woman filed this lawsuit in the Eastern District of California. The plaintiff sued the Sacramento Police Department and the City of Sacramento under state law and the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Represented by private and public interest counsel, the plaintiff sought declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief, claiming that the Sacramento P.D.’s use of force against her in response to her peacefully protesting violated her First Amendment right to free speech, the Fourth Amendment prohibition on the use of excessive force, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as state law, including assault and battery, negligence, and violations of the California constitution. Upon filing, the case was assigned to District Judge John A. Mendez.
The plaintiff filed an amended complaint one month after the initial complaint was filed. The amended complaint included an additional five plaintiffs, all of whom alleged negative and/or violent interactions with Sacramento police. In mid-February 2022, the City of Sacramento filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. As of May 2022, the District Court has yet to rule on this motion. The case remains ongoing.
Summary Authors
Jane Fisher (5/9/2022)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61588273/parties/white-v-sacramento-police-department/
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61588273/white-v-sacramento-police-department/
Last updated May 16, 2022, 8 p.m.
State / Territory: California
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 30, 2021
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Six individuals alleging brutality by Sacramento P.D. in response to their protesting for racial justice during or after the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Sacramento, CA.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
City of Sacramento (Sacramento, Sacramento), City
Sacramento Police Department (Sacramento, Sacramento), City
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Availably Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General:
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Discrimination-basis:
Race: