In the early days of the 2020 protests over the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Louisville Metro Police fired tear gas, pepper balls and flash bangs into large crowds.
The ACLU of Kentucky and former Democratic state Rep. Attica Scott were among those who filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of demonstrators who say they were met with excessive force, and had their First and Fourth Amendment rights violated at peaceful protests.
Patrick Moore, another plaintiff, was shot in the face with a pepper ball and remains partially blinded in his left eye.
“Five years later, that night, that pain, that fear, haven’t left me. By joining this lawsuit, I hoped to force Louisville Metro leadership to confront the real and lasting consequences of their actions,” Moore said in a statement. “City leadership assured us that LMPD policy now restricts the use of pepper balls to disperse protests and absent permission from the Chief of Police, and for that I am grateful.”
Last week, Louisville Metro settled the case. Neither Scott nor the ACLU disclosed the amount for which they settled, but ACLU communications director Angela Cooper said in a statement the city has made policy changes that prohibit police from using chemical and direct-impact weapons for the purposes of moving or managing crowds at peaceful protests. Louisville also created a Civilian Review and Accountability Board.
Kentucky Public Radio spoke with Scott, who was teargassed with her teenage daughter while attending a protest. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
RVV: Tell me a little bit about the settlement, and then we'll go into the background.
AS: Absolutely. So there were a number of us who were plaintiffs in this case and have been for the past nearly five years, and we wanted some policy change, which, yes, we have seen some policy change as a result of the protest, right? Not necessarily as a result of our lawsuit, and there's still a lot of work that needs to be done, and we were very clear about that along the way. So the reason that we went ahead and settled is because we saw some of those changes being made.
RVV: I covered those protests extensively, and I recall flash bangs, tear gas, pepper balls used against protesters. What was your own experience?
AS: The lawsuit actually stems from the very first weekend that I was out protesting and they decided to use tear gas on us. And when I tell you, the fear. I was with my daughter, who was a teenager at the time, we were with Shameka Parrish-Wright and we got separated. I've never experienced tear gas before in my life, with all of the marches and protests and rallies that I've been to, and I ended up losing them for almost 10 minutes. Didn't know where they were, was running around downtown trying to find them, and that's where this is stemming from the use of tear gas, the use of pepper balls, the use of LRADs. You know the long-range assault devices. This lawsuit is about all of that.
RVV: Long-range acoustic devices.
AS: Well, they assaulted our ears. But yes, acoustic, you're right.
RVV: Yeah, I recall those as well being used. So was this a monetary settlement?
AS: Yes, it was.
RVV: Can you divulge the amount?
AS: I cannot, but you can talk to the ACLU of Kentucky, because there were many people involved, and so some of them don't want that information shared.
RVV: How many people were involved?
AS: There were at least a dozen of us, and an organization, the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
RVV: What does this settlement agreement mean to you?
AS: It means that we tried, right? We did what we thought we could do to try to send a message to LMPD and Louisville Metro Government that you don't get to treat people like crap, that you don't get to say because it's mostly Black bodies and people of color who are out protesting, that you can do whatever you want, that you can sic LMPD on us and treat us violently for no reason whatsoever, unjustified. You can't say that you're going to attack and abuse dozens of people because of what one or two people do.
RVV: What would you like to see going forward with policing in Louisville, from both LMPD’s perspective and from the mayor's office?
AS: Well, a few things. One, I want the mayor to and any mayor who comes afterwards to hold the police accountable. The police do not run our city. You are the mayor. The police, they respond and they report to you, so you need to hold them accountable and not be afraid of them, not to move in fear. I'm glad to see that there's a push to keep the Inspector General, because we need that level of accountability as well. So now we need Metro Council to make sure that they reappoint the Inspector General. I also want to continue to see when people are showing up and fighting for their rights that police aren't violent toward them, because you're supposed to protect and serve. You're not supposed to drop people on their heads. You're not supposed to fire pepper balls at people. You're not supposed to use tear gas that can hurt somebody's reproductive system.
RVV: Thank you very much for your time.
AS: Thank you.
Editor’s note: Two LPM journalists who were witnesses to these events submitted affidavits as part of this class action lawsuit.
