OAKLAND - The City of Oakland faces a federal class action lawsuit for alleged brutality against protestors.
The complaint was filed on April 21 by plaintiffs Jasmine Gaffett, Kierra Brown and Toshua Sears in the U.S. District Court for Northern California.
Interim Oakland Chief of Police Susan Manheimer, Deputy Chief of Police Leronne Armstrong, Alameda County and Alameda County Sheriff Gregory J. Ahern were also named as defendants in the suit.
The plaintiffs all participated in demonstrations against police brutality in the days following the murder of George Floyd last May. All three plaintiffs say that the law enforcement responding to the peaceful demonstrations wrongfully used specialty impact munitions, kinetic impact projectiles, projectile impact weapons, explosive stun grenades, tear gas and chemical agents against the protestors in direct violation of the Oakland Police Department's own Crowd Control and Crowd Management policy.
The protestors accuse the defendants of ultimately inflicting "the same sort of ruthless violence on the demonstrators that the demonstrators were protesting."
The plaintiffs suffered various injuries from the police's alleged unlawful force, including a broken finger, nerve damage, deep muscle bruising and others.
The defendants are charged with multiple civil rights violations, wrongful arrest and excessive force. The plaintiffs are represented by the Flynn Law Office.