Activists Sue City Over Alleged Excessive Force By Police

BERKELEY, CA — Activists who rushed the dais at a Berkeley City Council meeting last year concerning a first-responder training exercise have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city alleging that officers used excessive force during the incident.

The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, says activists "peacefully" unfurled a banner reading "Stop Urban Shield, End the Militarization of our Communities" at the council meeting at Longfellow
Middle School on June 20, 2017.

Urban Shield is a training exercise the Alameda County Sheriff's Office has hosted for multiple law enforcement agencies since 2007. The suit alleges that, "Berkeley police immediately responded with
aggression and violence, applying unnecessary pain holds and forcefully herding protesters out of the auditorium with baton shoves and blows."

The suit charges that officers injured several people, including Lewis Williams, a 74-year-old retired elementary school teacher, and photojournalist Brooke Anderson, who the suit said presented officers with
her press pass but was struck multiple times on her arm, which already was in a brace due to a prior injury.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction prohibiting Berkeley police from using unnecessary force against protesters and journalists as well as monetary compensation for the injuries to the three plaintiffs in the case.

The suit names the city of Berkeley, police Chief Andrew Greenwood and five sergeants and officers as defendants.

City officials didn't immediately respond to a request for a comment on the suit.

Shortly after the council meeting, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said in a statement, "The audience in the meeting rushed the dais, making many councilmembers fear for their safety. Extra officers were called from
around the City to come to the school for support."

Arreguin said, "The officers gave people multiple verbal warnings and asked them to get off the stage. When they did not, they arrested two people inside the auditorium on charges of obstructing, delaying or resisting
an officer, and for the obstruction of a council meeting. Both were cited and released."

Arreguin said, "Once outside, crowds encircled police cars and began demanding the release of the people detained. Officers gave verbal commands to have people back off of the car. When they did not, they were
pushed out of the way to allow the patrol car to leave."

The mayor said, "One person apparently reached for a police officer's weapon. I don't know why a person was hit with a baton and police are investigating the incident. I wish them a speedy recovery."

The lawsuit follows another long City Council meeting on the issue Monday night that ended with a 5-4 vote in favor of participating in the Urban Shield training again this September.

The Stop Urban Shield Coalition alleged in a news release that the training exercise is "militarized, xenophobic and racialized."

But Sheriff Gregory Ahern said at an Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting in March that he already has made many changes to Urban Shield based on community input, such as installing safeguards to make sure that it bans racial profiling, excludes vendors who display derogatory or racist messages and excludes the sale or transfer of assault weapons and firearms.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 at the end of that March meeting to fund the training exercise for this year but not for future years in its current format.

The motion approved by the board calls for the exercise format in 2019 and future years to focus more on training for natural disasters and less on terrorism and on weapons vendors.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock