Many of the citations in Detroit, the city said, stemmed from a citywide curfew on May 31 and June 1-2 that prohibited activity after 8 p.m. unless it was connected to work, going to the doctor, pharmacy or grocery store and for disruptive and violent behavior.
Protesters against police brutality sued the city of Detroit on Monday, seeking to ban police from using batons, riot gear, tear gas and rubber bullets against them.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court claims Detroit police used those objects to fracture bones, inflict baseball-size lumps and concussions, collapse lungs and cause other injuries that left Black Lives Matter protesters hospitalized and disoriented during marches in Detroit that started on May 29.
by Violet Ikonomova
A Detroit Will Breathe protest in the summer of 2020. (file photo) Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved $200,000 in spending on a lawsuit seeking damages from largely peaceful racial-justice demonstrators who the city claims were part of a civil conspiracy. The contract with the Clark Hill law firm will go toward defending the city against an excessive-force suit filed by Detroit Will Breathe and supporting its counterclaim against the activist group. The spending was approved in a contentious 5-4 vote, with councilmembers opposed arguing it could have a chilling effect on dissent and that a countersuit is not needed to prove whether demonstrators acted inappropriately.
Detroit Prosecutors Fail to Show Evidence Against Arrested BLM Protesters, Prompting Black Judge to Toss Charges Against 30 People
A Detroit judge dismissed criminal charges against dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters who were arrested during anti-police brutality marches over the summer.
Citing prosecutors’ lack of evidence and discovery, 36th District Court of Detroit Judge Larry Williams, Jr. tossed out cases filed against 30 protesters during a Jan. 14 hearing.
“Every defendant has the right to due process, and you cannot have a trial by ambush,” said Arnie Chambers, one of the lead defense attorneys in the cases. “So if they’re not going to properly provide the evidence that they’re required to provide to defendants, the proper remedy is dismissal.”
Black Chicago Activists ‘Not Holding Their Breath’ for Biden-Harris Administration to Make Sweeping Changes
Many Black Americans were enthralled when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were inaugurated Wednesday, Jan. 20, but some Black Chicago activists aren’t depending on the country’s new leadership to make gains for them.
“I’m afraid that Biden and Harris won’t be held accountable,” Brave Space Alliance coordinator and organizer Tatyana Chante told Block Club Chicago. “I don’t think they’ll cause as much damage as Trump would’ve done if he had been elected for another four years, but I am worried about what they won’t get done.”
Detroit Will Breathe calls on Macomb County prosecutor to drop charges against protestors
Shelby Township police made arrests following protest in October
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“We are prepared to keep showing up and demanding accountability,” said Detroit Will Breathe organizer Sammie Lewis.
The organization is defending the so-called “Shelby Five″ protestors arrested during an anti-police brutality demonstration. They were charged with resisting, obstructing, assaulting a police officer.
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“When we started marching and had that violent attack on us by the police, that turned into anger because this is exactly what we’re fighting against,” Lewis said.
Shelby Township police said they made arrests after marchers disobeyed orders to remain on the sidewalk and started blocking traffic. One woman was recorded in the back of a patrol car breaking free of her restraints and taking off her clothing.