Nine pro-Palestine protesters intend to sue various counties and police departments, including Amherst Police, Buffalo Police and Erie County Sheriff’s Office, over the entities’ alleged misconduct during the protesters’ arrests at an on-campus protest on May 1.
At the May 1 rally, approximately 85 pro-Palestine protesters attempted to set up an encampment in front of UB’s Hochstetter Hall to demand that the university and private UB Foundation divest from companies “complicit in human rights abuse in Palestine.”
15 demonstrators, including seven students, were arrested. Some police officers used force, tackling protesters and ripping one protesters’ hijab off. Students did not face disciplinary action.
14 pro-Palestine protesters were arraigned last July at Amherst Town Court, but 12 cases were dismissed due to “insufficient evidence.”
The demonstrators’ notices of claim submitted to the Amherst Town Court on July 29 claim that the officers’ “negligence, carelessness, recklessness and/or unlawful conduct” led to “serious injuries and constitutional deprivations.”
In a statement emailed to The Spectrum, UB SUNY BDS said that it “stands with the protestors bringing a civil case against the agencies responsible for the police brutality and suppression of free speech we witnessed on May 1.”
“While the U.S. legal system is fraught with injustice, we also recognize the value in wielding the tools available to us in the struggle for a Free Palestine,” the statement reads.
University spokesperson John Della Contrada said that the university does not comment on pending litigation.
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor and can be reached at mylien.lai@ubspectrum.com
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor at The Spectrum. Outside of getting lost in Buffalo, she enjoys practicing the piano and being a bean plant mom. She can be found at @my_my_my_myliennnn on Instagram.
