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Read the federal lawsuits against Philly police for using tear gas, rubber bullets on protesters and residents

In three separate federal lawsuits focused on police response to unrest on I-676 and on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia, the plaintiffs said city officials and police violated their constitutional rights with “grossly excessive” actions.

A police officer walks through a cloud of gas deployed at 52nd and Chestnut Streets on May 31, 2020.
A police officer walks through a cloud of gas deployed at 52nd and Chestnut Streets on May 31, 2020.Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer

Pointing to “extraordinary abuses of police power against peaceable protesters and uninvolved Philadelphia residents,” 146 people sued the city Tuesday over law enforcement’s response to the unrest last month provoked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In three separate federal lawsuits, plaintiffs said city officials and police violated their constitutional rights with “grossly excessive” actions, including using armored trucks to spray tear gas in a residential West Philadelphia neighborhood and launching tear gas canisters and rubber bullets into a crowd of protesters trapped on a hill off I-676 while trying to flee the expressway.

Read the complaints against the city and police department here.

I-676 complaint, on behalf of 41 plaintiffs represented by attorneys David Rudovsky, Paul Messing, Johnathan H. Feinberg and Susan M. Lin:

52nd Street complaint, on behalf of 13 plaintiffs represented by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, The Abolitionist Law Center and David Rudovsky:

Joint I-676 and 52nd Street Complaint, on behalf of 92 plaintiffs represented by attorneys Riley H. Ross III, Kevin V. Mincey, Thomas O. Fitzpatrick, Shabrei M. Parker, Paul J. Hetznecker, Marni Jo Snyder, Stephen D. Stewart Jr. and Michael Coard: