Baton Rouge cop sues Black Lives Mater activist DeRay Mckesson
A Louisiana cop has filed a lawsuit blaming a prominent Black Lives Matter activist for getting struck in the face by a piece of concrete — even though the suit concedes the named activist didn’t actually throw anything.
The unnamed officer filed the federal lawsuit Monday saying Baltimore native and Black Lives Matter organizer DeRay Mckesson “incited violence” during a protest in Baton Rouge on July 9. The tumultuous protest, which prompted hundreds of arrests, was organized in response to the death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man shot and killed by two white police officers there on July 5.
The officer says in the lawsuit he was struck by a “rock like substance” and, since Mckesson “was in charge,” he is to blame.
“He was seen and heard giving orders throughout the day and night of the protests,” the suit charges. “DeRay Mckesson was present during the protest and he did nothing to calm the crowd and, instead, he incited the violence on behalf of Black Lives Matter.”
BLM activists sue DA’s office for NYPD’s prosecutorial role
The Baton Rouge officer, who’s only identified as “John Doe” in the suit, is seeking unspecified damages and claims he lost teeth and suffered injuries to his jaw and brain during the alleged rock throwing incident. The suit says Doe requested anonymity “for his protection.”
Mckesson was arrested during the July 9 protest, which was organized in response to the shooting death of Alton Sterling.
(Max Becherer/AP)
Mckesson didn’t immediately return requests for comment from the Daily News, but took to Twitter Monday evening.
“I wish the Baton Rouge police would return my bookbag,” he said, quickly prompting hundreds of retweets.
A spokesperson for the Baton Rouge Police department could not be reached for comment Monday evening.
Black people catch hell for Iowa cops’ murders — by a white man
Mckesson, who considers himself one of many Black Lives Matter leaders, was arrested during the July 9 protest on a charge of obstructing a highway. He filed a lawsuit in response; claiming police unlawfully arrested him and dozens of other protesters.
Sterling was shout and killed by police outside a convenience store.
(Facebook)
“The police in Baton Rouge have been truly awful tonight,” Mckesson said in a Facebook live broadcast from the protest shortly before getting arrested. “They have provoked people, they chase people just for kicks. The police have been violent tonight. The protesters have not.”
Mckesson has been one of the most fervent leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement since its inception in 2014 in response to the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
In addition to Mckesson, Monday’s suit names Black Lives Matter as a codefendant — a claim legal experts say could be hard to back up in court.
“Black Lives Matter is just a social movement. It’s not an entity. I don’t know how it could be liable,” said Dane Ciolino, a law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans.
With News Wire Services
Send a Letter to the Editor
Powered by WPeMatico