Brooklyn Lawmakers Pepper Sprayed At Protest Sue The City: Docs

BROOKLYN, NY — Two Brooklyn lawmakers who say they were beaten with bicycles and pepper-sprayed by police during a protest at the Barclays Center last year have sued the city, adding to an onslaught of lawsuits stemming from the NYPD's protest response.

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assembly Member Diana Richardson filed the civil-rights lawsuit on Monday, naming Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea and six specific officers involved in the May 29 protest, documents show.

The suit comes more than a year after the protest, which Myrie and Richardson said they went to both to voice their outrage about the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and because they believed their presence would help ensure a peaceful demonstration.

"But their status as elected officials, their positive relationships with local police departments, and their own peaceful conduct could not protect Senator Myrie and Assemblywoman Richardson from being harmed at the hands of NYPD officers," the suit states.

"The experience was a painful and humiliating reminder that following the rules and complying with police orders does not protect Black Americans from police brutality, not even Black Americans who have ascended to elected office."

Myrie and Richardson, both wearing gear with their names on it, identified themselves to officers when they arrived at the Barclays Center demonstration. Myrie had also texted NYPD Chief Jeffrey B. Maddrey, who was the commanding officer of the district, before heading to the protest, according to the suit.

The two were talking with constituents and watching the peaceful demonstration when shortly before 8 p.m., the NYPD announced through megaphones they were shutting the protest down and began moving in on the crowd, the suit says.

"The NYPD officers then encircled the group, making it impossible for them to leave," the suit states. "Wielding their department-issued bikes as weapons, officers rammed Senator Myrie, Assemblywoman Richardson and other protestors with their bike wheels over and over again."

Myrie and Richardson both asked the officers why they were hitting them with their bicycles. They were pepper-sprayed directly in the eyes shortly after, the suit states.

Richardson, who fell to the ground, was helped out of the crowd by bystanders, who poured water and milk onto her eyes. Myrie, still blinded by the pepper spray, was handcuffed with zip ties and escorted to a line of arrested protesters, only let go after an officer recognized him, according to the suit.

The incident has left both lawmakers with depression, anxiety and a fear of attending large gatherings monitored by the NYPD, despite their duties as elected officials, the lawsuit states.

The suit claims the officers who attacked the lawmakers not only violated their own use-of-force policies, but were not sufficiently trained by the NYPD to police peaceful protests.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, the city's own Department of Investigation and human rights groups have all faulted the NYPD to some extent for their violent response to the largely peaceful protesters.

James found that between May 28 and June 7, there were more than 2,000 protest-related arrests, averaging 190 per day, along with indiscriminate pepper spraying and other excessive force at the hands of police, according to the report.

When asked for comment about the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the city's Law Department said they will review the claims.

“The NYPD has a longstanding track record of successfully protecting the right of the public to protest while ensuring public safety, and is committed to strengthening those efforts," Spokesman Nick Paolucci said.