There have been a number of people filing lawsuits against the city of Seattle. As protests continue to rage against civil rights issues, the police have been using force time and time again.
50 plaintiffs from Seattle decided that enough was enough. They all took legal action and filed lawsuits against the city of Seattle as well as the state. The suits ranged from wrongful deaths, civil rights violations, and personal injury due to excessive force from police members.
A lot of these cases are coming from the recent killing from a driver running into protestors on the I-5 in Seattle.
Cedar Law PLLC clients have been injured by police while expressing their right to protest. Namely, Kel Murphy-DuFord was slammed by officers onto the ground. Witnesses heard the slam and later remarked that there was a cracking noise. It was later revealed that this noise came from Murphy-DuFord’s head hitting the pavement. He’s currently receiving care and is in satisfactory condition.
The police don’t give any details about the event besides him suffering a medical episode “related to a substance… ingested”. His lawyer believes this statement is an attempt to divert the attention away from police misconduct. Murphy-DuFord is not able to speak or stand up for himself due to his injuries suffered.
The claims were filed back in September, but the city said that it needs additional time. The city delayed the filing until December, saying that COVID-19 is slowing down the process.
K&L Gates got involved on the defense’s side. They are a firm with nearly 2,000 lawyers on staff, and the plaintiff’s lawyer believes that the city is going to pay these lawyers millions of dollars to avoid settling.
The city obviously wants these claims and filings to be thrown out. The lawyers pressing charges against the city are adamant that they are not going to stand down. They are representing their clients pro bono, so their clients won’t get bogged down with legal fees.
At the end of the day, the citizens of Seattle want to see justice. They want their voices to be heard, and they are tired of police officers using excessive force without any repercussions.
There’s no saying how many more people will file suits against the city in the coming weeks until the case is finally opened.
