FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The City of Fort Wayne and the Allen County Sheriff's Department are the latest targets of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Indiana. In a suit filed Friday, the ACLU asked for the immediate end to using chemical agents and projectiles on protesters.
The lawsuit comes just a week after the ACLU took the same action against the City of Indianapolis. Both lawsuits came after reports of police unleashing tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters during demonstrations following the death of George Floyd.
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The lawsuit claims those chemical agents and projectiles from police infringe upon protesters' First and Fourth Amendment rights. According to the complaint, on May 29, police blocked protesters from leaving the Martin Luther King Bridge near the Allen County Courthouse, then shot tear gas canisters at them.
The ACLU also alleges police dragged protesters out of private businesses as they tried to get away from police action during a June 14 demonstration.
"Police must not respond to protesters speaking out against police brutality with yet more brutality," said Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana. "Excessive use of force against protesters chills free speech, and widens the rift of distrust between communities and the police that are sworn to serve them."
