AUSTIN, Texas — A Travis County man is suing the City of Austin and three unidentified police officers after he claims he was pepper-sprayed and injured while demonstrating in the Austin-area George Floyd protests.
According to the suit, three officers were standing in line along the embankment and overpass on Interstate 35 near Seventh Street on May 30. It states that plaintiff Jason Gallagher walked up the embankment and "began demonstrating" near them non-violently and non-threateningly.
"In other words, [the officers'] assaults on Gallagher were completely unprovoked and unwarranted," the suit claims.
At this time, the suit states Gallagher was sprayed in the face with pepper spray by two of the officers and was hit in the back with the third officer's baton and pushed, causing him to stumble and injure his knee. Gallagher claims he has video evidence of this occurring.
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The lawsuit claims that as others began to assist Gallagher, one of the officers pointed his beanbag shotgun at them and two more officers sprayed pepper spray across the area.
Gallagher claims that the officers' actions violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights, protecting his free speech and against excessive force. He also seeks to identify the officers involved.
Many people were injured during the protests earlier this summer, and some sustained traumatic injuries as a result of beanbag rounds fired by officers. The Austin Police Department has since launched investigations into multiple officers' use of force during the demonstrations and has since discontinued the use of these rounds against crowds.
Additionally, Dell Seton Medical Center surgeons who treated multiple people after the protests recently released a graphic report detailing these injuries and stating that these "less lethal" beanbag rounds should not be used for crowd control.
The City of Austin provided KVUE with this statement:
"The city is currently reviewing the claims related to the May 2020 protests. Because there were many individuals involved in the events, it will take time to sort through everything. The Police Department, along with the Office of Police Oversight, and the Law Department will review each claim, and the city will work directly with the individual protestors and their lawyers."
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