The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the ACLU, North Baton Rouge Matters, Black Youth Project 100, New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, and Louisiana chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which had legal observers on hand during Sunday’s protest. According to the lawsuit, officers broke up peaceful demonstrations by using excessive force, arresting people without probable cause, and attempting to provoke protestors with physical and verbal abuse.
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The suit is requesting a temporary restraining order against local and state law enforcement groups to prevent them from interfering with the protesters right to assemble peacefully as protests are expected to continue, The Advocate reported.
Three people were arrested this week in connection to a plot thought to be a retaliation against police officers in Baton Rouge, reports said.
The governor and the Baton Rouge police chief have defended the response, with the chief saying Tuesday that authorities discovered an alleged plot against police over the weekend.
“I truly believe that we can have parallel conversations about respect for police officers, making sure that they’re safe, but also have a parallel conversation about the things that are happening with African American males across the country”, James said.
An attorney for relatives of a black man who was fatally shot during a struggle with two white Baton Rouge police officers is urging Louisiana’s attorney general to “fight for justice” in the case.
Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are just two high profile examples of recent police brutality, and despite the deadly Dallas Sniper shooting that claimed five lives last week, Baton Rouge is still facing backlash from its residents.
In addition to BRPD, defendants are the City of Baton Rouge; Police Chief Carl Dabadie, Jr., Louisiana Department of Public Safety; Louisiana State Police and Col. Michael Edmonson, the superintendent of State Police; East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux III; Mayor President Kip Holden; and District Attorney Hillar C. Moore, III.
Police also arrested demonstrators who had been invited to gather on private property after ordering them to leave, the complaint stated. “We had a bond so close”, he said. They called on the fourth suspect to turn himself in. Everyone needs to protest in the right way. Alton Sterling died during a confrontation with police, who have said Sterling was reaching for a gun when he was shot by an officer.
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Baton Rouge PD Lt. Jonny Dunham later told CBS News that the protesters had already broken the law by attempting to march along the on-ramp to the Interstate.
