The police continued dispersing protesters when they began donning gas masks, but they neither gave warning to the crowd nor declared an unlawful assembly, according to the suit.
Minutes later, the plaintiffs say, the FLPD fired canisters of tear gas and at least 100 rubber and foam bullets shot from guns that have muzzle velocities similar to live ammunition.
One protester, LaToya Ratlieff, was hit just above her right eye with a 40-millimeter projectile fired apparently by FLPD Officer Eliezer Ramos, sustaining severe injuries, court records show. Ratlieff individually sued Fort Lauderdale in 2022, alleging civil rights violations and negligent use of direct impact munitions, among other counts.
“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 their rights violated,” Ratlieff said during Monday’s press conference. “If you were forced to leave the protest because of tear gas and rubber bullets, your rights were violated.”
