This lawsuit was filed on July 22, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon by four individual plaintiffs represented by the ACLU Foundation of Oregon and private counsel. The complaint arose out of the protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd in May of 2020. After Mr. Floyd's killing protests broke out across the country condemning what happened to Mr. Floyd, police brutality, and racial inequality more generally. While the protests were mostly peaceful, there was some violence and property destruction at certain protests. By mid-July, President Trump deployed federal law enforcement against protesters in Portland, threatening to do the same in other cities as well. These law enforcement agents had neither their own names nor agency names attached to their uniforms.
The four plaintiffs in this case were all individuals with medical training who were using that training to assist people injured during the protests. They brought suit against the City of Portland, one named Portland police officer, sixty unnamed Portland police officers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Marshals Service, and forty unnamed federal law enforcement agents. The complaint alleged that at various points between early June through mid-July, defendants had engaged in tactics to quell the protests that violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights, and that the federal government was in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. They alleged that the defendants were engaging in behavior, in violation of the First Amendment, which would have a "chilling effect" on the plaintiffs' speech. Furthermore, they alleged that the defendants' use of chemical weapons, semi-lethal projectiles, and riot batons against peaceful protesters represented excessive use of force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Finally, the complaint asserts that the federal defendants were acting arbitrarily and capriciously in using anti-protest tactics, thereby violating the Administrative Procedure Act. They sought injunctive relief and declaratory relief. They also sought compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney's fees and costs. Two days after filing the complaint, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against the federal and municipal defendants.
The case was assigned to Judge Karin J. Immergut.
Before the court held a hearing on the motion for a temporary restrainting order, the federal defendants announced an intention to reduce their presence in Portland. Shortly after, the plaintiffs filed withdrew their motion.
On August 21, the plaintiffs submitted a second motion for a temporary restraining order against the municipal defendants and order to show cause as to why a preliminary injunction should not be entered against the municipal defendants. By September 2, 2020, Judge Immergut had issued her ruling. 2020 WL 5231486. She denied the motion, finding that the the plaintiffs did not allege sufficient facts and legal support to warrant specialized treatment for protest medics. She also held that the TRO was unworkable in practice, given the chaotic circumstances of the protests and that the line between protest medic and protester was not sufficiently clear.
The case is ongoing as of October 8, 2020.
Jack Hibbard - 10/08/2020
compress summary
