COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday barring Columbus police from using tear gas, pepper spray, wooden bullets and other so-called "non-lethal force" against nonviolent protesters. The decision favored 26 protesters who sued the city in U. S. District Court saying they were brutalized by Columbus police during protests following the murder of George Floyd last Memorial Day at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was recently convicted of murder in the case. Chief U. S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley wrote that "some of the members of the Columbus Police Department had no regard for the rights secured by (the First Amendment of the Constitution) this bedrock principle of American democracy. This case is the sad tale of police officers, clothed with the awesome power of the state, run amok."Marbley, who opened his 88-page decision Friday with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., also barred police from inflicting "pain or punishment to deter nonviolent protesters" — those who "are chanting, verbally confronting police, sitting, holding their hands up when approaching police, occupying streets or sidewalks, and/or passively resisting police orders."The ruling requires Columbus police to ensure that body and vehicle cameras "are in good working order and used during every interaction" with nonviolent protesters, and that officers’ badge numbers and/or identity cards are clearly displayed "even when riot gear is worn."John Marshall, lead attorney for plaintiffs in the case, said the decision "will have a significant impact on the ability of the Columbus police to inflict violence against lawful protesters.""We captured through eye-witness testimony and by combing through thousands of hours of video, including body cams, what really happened on the streets of Columbus during the Black Lives Matter protests," Marshall said. "And what really happened was that the police vindictively attacked lawful and peaceful protesters, we believe, because they were protesting against the very violence that the police have long inflicted on communities of color."A request for comment from Columbus police made through the Department of Public Safety was met with a statement from Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, who said that the city last summer "was faced with extraordinary circumstances not seen in more than two decades.""Today’s ruling tells us we fell short in our response," he said in the statement."We have already implemented changes that address most, if not all, of the orders in the court’s decision so that residents can feel safe in expressing their First Amendment rights in a nonviolent way," Ginther said, referring to rules the city imposed that had limited use of non-lethal force to situations where officers were directly threatened with physical violence. Ginther added that "the changes we made last summer have been evident in many protest events that followed, without confrontation or incident.

All data is taken from the source: http://usatoday.com Article Link:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/05/01/federal-judge-bars-columbus-pd-use-tear-gas-wooden-bullets-and-more/4903184001/

#police #newsoftheday #newstodayabc #newsworldtoday #newsworld #newstodaycnn #