Fort Lauderdale police sued over their actions during BLM protest
FORT LAUDERDALE - It was four years ago when hundreds of people gathered in Fort Lauderdale to protest the death of George Floyd and it was on that day, May 31, 2020, when Latoya Ratlieff claims to have been pepper sprayed and shot by police with rubber bullets.
"I may have suffered some of the worst injuries of anyone who attended the protest, but I wasn't the only one who was harmed or had the rights violated," said Ratliff.
Now Ratlieff, along with Jayanna Jackson and two others who were there that day, has filed a federal class action lawsuit against the city of Fort Lauderdale and the Fort Lauderdale police department for their response.
"We are standing on the corner, where four years ago lawful citizens were assembled to protest against police brutality. The city of Fort Lauderdale did not like their message, did not like their decision to assemble, and for an hour they deployed teargas and KIPs to make sure they could not speak anymore. This class action lawsuit seeks justice on their behalf," said attorney Michael T Davis.
"I'm a mom of two sons and two daughters so when George Floyd was murdered, that hurt my heart. I came here four years ago to raise my voice against the brutalities he suffered and advocate for positive change. I was teargassed. I was scared. So as a community, we must stand this so it doesn't happen again," said Jackson.
CBS News Miami reached out to the Fort Lauderdale police department and they said they do not comment on pending litigation.