Occupy LA protesters sue city [View all]
Source: Los Angeles Times
Protesters in the Occupy Los Angeles movement filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday against the city and high-ranking officials alleging that the group's constitutional rights were violated during its eviction.
The lawsuit alleges that the Los Angeles Police Department used "shock and awe" military tactics on November 2011 to forcibly remove hundreds of demonstrators who were encamped on the south lawn of City Hall. The group alleges that the police raid that resulted in nearly 300 arrests was "unconstitutional and an unlawful violation of plaintiffs' First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to assembly, association, freedom from unlawful seizure and liberty."
Occupy LA was the local branch of a national movement in which demonstrators established tent communities in major cities to protest economic inequality and the bailout of large banks. Initially, city officials not only permitted but welcomed the L.A. protesters, the suit says.
But after 59 days, and no indication that the protest would end, officials grew increasingly concerned. Fearing that children might have been living in the encampment, LAPD Chief Beck and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa decided to shut the camp. Authorities posted signs notifying the group that the lawn fell under the regulations of the city's parks departmement and was subject to closure at night. The group did not move, however, and protesters alleged that it was the city that was violating the law by moving to eject the group, according to the lawsuit.
Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/12/protesters-in-the-occupy-la-movement-sues-the-city.html
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