Judge temporarily bans Detroit police from chokeholds, rubber bullets
against protesters
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[September 05, 2020]
By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) - A federal judge temporarily
barred Detroit police from the use of striking weapons, chokeholds,
chemical agents and rubber bullets against demonstrators, medical
support personnel and legal observers in the city's ongoing anti-racism
protests.
U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Michelson partially granted a
restraining order late on Friday after activist group "Detroit Will
Breathe" alleged that the police had responded to peaceful
demonstrations with "beatings, tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets,
sound cannons, flash grenades, chokeholds, and mass arrests without
probable cause."
The group said such police tactics were violations of "First and Fourth
Amendment rights", which include the practice of free speech, according
to filings made in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Michigan.
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The motion of the activist group for a temporary restraining order
focused principally on clashes that occurred between May 29 and June 2,
on July 10, and on Aug. 22.
"The Court finds that temporary injunctive relief is warranted and
grants in part plaintiffs' motion for a Temporary Restraining Order,"
Judge Michelson said in Friday's order, which will be in effect for at
least 14 days.
Demonstrations against racism and police brutality have swept the United
States since the death in May of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man
who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly
nine minutes.
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![](../images/090520PIX/news_d7.jpg)
Detroit Police officers stand outside the 12th precinct during a
protest following a shooting involving an officer, resulting in the
death of a man according to local media, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
July 10, 2020. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
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"This is a victory to be sure, but it is the first battle in what's
about to be a long war," Detroit Will Breathe said after the order.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig was quoted by The Associated Press
as saying the order will not change how his officers handle protests
because they have used force only when protesters were not peaceful.
In July, a Detroit police officer was charged with an unprovoked
attack against three credentialed journalists, shooting them with
rubber pellets in May as a protest they were covering in downtown
Detroit was winding down.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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