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Black Lives Matter protestor files lawsuit against City of Austin

The woman says she was shot in the head with a bean-bag round while running away from officers who had fired tear gas into the crowd, which was marching on I-35.

AUSTIN, Texas — A woman who attended a Black Lives Matter protest last year has filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin, claiming she was shot with a bean-bag gun by an Austin police officer. 

The lawsuit states that Christen Warkoczewksi was attending the protest held on May 31, 2020, and claims in the lawsuit that she was running away from officers after tear gas was shot into the crowd, then was subsequently struck in the head by a bean-bag round. Warkoczewksi needed surgery to repair a broken jaw, according to the lawsuit. 

“Shooting someone in the head while they are demonstrating against police violence, while also running away from officers, cannot be tolerated by any police department,” said Jeff Edwards, Warkoczewksi’s attorney. “Christen went out that day to be an ally to the Black community, and to show that everyone should believe Black lives matter. Instead of respecting her First Amendment rights, the Austin Police Department responded by shooting her in the head and breaking her jaw.”

The lawsuit stated that Warkoczewksi was among a group of protestors marching on Interstate 35 that day.

Warkoczewksi’s lawsuit is the latest of many lawsuits filed against the City stemming from the Black Lives Matter protests in May 2020.

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