AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Justice Coalition and the City of Austin have reportedly been dismissed as parties in a lawsuit that several police officers filed earlier this year after they were indicted on aggravated assault charges related to the May 2020 social justice protests.
In June, officers Todd Gilbertson, Derrick Lehman, Alexander Lomovstev, Joshua Jackson and Rolan Rast filed a lawsuit claiming that they weren't trained in how to use the less-lethal rounds issued to them and that City staff knew some of those rounds were defective and expired.
According to KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman, the officers also accused the Austin Justice Coalition of inciting a riot by protesting against police brutality in May 2020, "even though the coalition – a civil rights nonprofit – also expressed concerns during that time about the violence that occurred and about keeping participants safe."
The Statesman reports that the suit is still pending against the remaining parties: Travis County; District Attorney José Garza; Black Lives Matter; the Mike Ramos Brigade; and the companies that made and sold the munitions the officers fired at protesters.
The Statesman reports that, in total, about three dozen protesters went to the hospital over several days in May 2020, with several treated for extensive trauma from beanbag rounds shot by Austin police officers. According to the report, roughly 20 people have sued the City over their injuries. Some of those lawsuits have been settled for millions of dollars.
To learn more, read the Statesman's full report.