LEXINGTON, Ky. _ A Louisville woman injured by a projectile during a protest in Louisville has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her constitutional rights were violated.
Shannyn White, 24, was hit in the forehead when police fired on protesters near the 500 block of West Jefferson Street on the night of May 29, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Louisville.
The lawsuit names as defendants the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and two unidentified police officers.
"Ms. White's shooting was not an isolated occurrence that evening or during the duration of the protests," the suit states. "LMPD has ratified these actions, allowing its officers to repeatedly violate their own policies as well as established constitutional law, resulting in injuries to numerous protesters."
The police and mayor's office did not comment on the suit, the Courier Journal and Louisville TV station WAVE 3 reported. That's typical when government agencies are sued.
According to the suit, White was part of a group of about 20 protesters who "peacefully stood" at the intersection "videotaping and chanting 'handsup, don't shoot,' as a line of LMPD officers formed to face them head on."
"She was protesting the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and other African Americans at the hands of law enforcement, as well as calling for changes to practices of systematic racism in the nation's police departments," the lawsuit states. "Though protests nationwide have caused destruction to property, the protests in Louisville had been mostly peaceful that evening, including the group Ms. White was protesting with near downtown Louisville.
"LMPD had decided however, to take a heavy-handed approach against protesters _ peaceful or not _ meeting them with a show of force that included flash bangs, tear gas, pepperballs and 40-millimeter blunt-impact projectiles."
According to the suit, "no one in the group was rioting or looting." Officers allegedly fired projectiles at the group "suddenly, with no warning and for no legitimate reason," it states.
"No warnings, directions or commands were given regarding the potential use of force if the group did not disperse," the suit states.
White was hit "directly in the face" and "dropped to her knees, screaming in excruciating pain, and was immediately unable to see."
The lawsuit states that other protesters surrounded her to try to help. "Protest medics" and others helped her get into a car that took her to University of Louisville Hospital, according to the lawsuit. The suit says police did not render aid or call for emergency services.
Doctors were unable to stitch up the wound on White's forehead, and she has been left with "a large permanent scar from the assault as well as permanent green marks," according to the lawsuit.
White experienced dizziness, vomiting and vision problems that led her to go back to the hospital two days later, the lawsuit alleges.
She does not have insurance and has "incurred large amounts of medical debts" because of the injury.
Photos of White's wounds, as well as a photo of one of the projectiles attorneys say police fired at the protesters, were filed along with the lawsuit. The projectile was picked up by one of White's friends who found it in the street, and it was "stained with the same green paint that covered Ms. White's face," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that White was hit by a rubber bullet.
Louisville police have said that they do not use rubber bullets. On the same night White was injured while protesting, a Louisville Metro police officer fired on a WAVE 3 television reporter and photojournalist who were covering the protests. A police spokeswoman told the television station that the news team was probably hit by pepper balls.
The lawsuit claims that the unnamed officer who shot White and the officer who gave the order for officers to fire on the protesters violated a number of White's constitutional rights under the first, fourth and fourteenth amendments, including her rights to protest the government and to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Louisville Metro Police Department has a "policy of inadequate training or supervision."
"It is clear that the level of guidance given to LMPD officers regarding use of these weapons is less than adequate to ensure the rights of protesters are being protected," the lawsuit states.
And the suit alleges that the metro government has "a custom of tolerance or acquiescence of federal rights violations" that is demonstrated by a failure to accurately report or track multiple instances of the use of deadly force by police officers during protests.
