The 96-page lawsuit names Mayor Lovely Warren and former Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, who was fired in the fallout from Prude’s death. Other defendants include the city of Rochester, Monroe County and various unidentified police officers, sheriff’s deputies and New York state troopers.
Trying to inject humor into police training, especially use-of-force training, can be a terrible mistake.
James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, filed their complaint in the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia, and are each seeking compensatory damages in excess of $75,000, plus punitive damages.
The qualified immunity doctrine is used in state and federal court, so it's unclear how a city can revoke the potential protection it provides to officers.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday by civil rights attorney Ben Crump in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
The court determined that in order to sue for excessive force under the Fourth Amendment, it is not necessary for a plaintiff to have been physically seized by law enforcement.
According to the court documents, the photos of the crash site were widely shared among law enforcement authorities who had no reason to possess them for any investigatory purpose. The litigation describes the circulation of graphic photos of the victims’ bodies as a form of “morbid gossip.”
In a 27-page complaint, the family says that Daniel Prude's death, and alleged attempts by the department and city officials to later cover it up, violated his constitutional rights protecting against unreasonable search and seizure. Officials also failed to adequately respond to his medical condition, the complaint states.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ruled against county attorneys who argued the deputies' names should remain under seal because releasing them would make their personal information, including addresses, accessible online and possibly make them targets for hackers.
In Alston v. Swarbrick, Florida deputies faced potential claims of wrongful arrest, unreasonable use of OC spray, and "bystander liability."