13more plaintiffs join federal suit against police

Thirteenmorepeoplehave joined a federal lawsuit that accusesColumbuspoliceofficers of violating their civil rights and using excessive force against them during protests Downtown in late May and early June.

Altogether, there are now 26 plaintiffs inthe suit, which was first filed in July in U.S. District Court in Columbus. The alleged incidents took place during demonstrations that occurred in Columbus after the May 25 death of George Floydwhile in the custody of Minneapolis police officers.

Theannouncementofadditional plaintiffs by the lawsuit’s attorneys – Walton and Brown and the Gittes Law Group– onWednesday came a day after the city of Columbus released a report from the BakerHostetler lawfirm, which examined the actions ofofficersduringtheprotests.

Therewasonlyoneconclusion of a sustained misconduct by an officer out of 22 findings found in the Baker

Hostetler report.

Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said Tuesday that he was “surprised” and “angered” by the report’s findings, and said the results “prove to me more clearly than ever before the need for police reform.”

Theattorneys for the plaintiffs question the validity of the BakerHostetler investigation and report.

“Besides being useless, the report issued yesterday was neither fair nor accurate,” said Fred Gittes, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.

As an example, Gittes cited the case of Bernadette Calvey, 21, one of the 13 original defendants.

Calvey, 21, lived in the Short North and was in the areaof2ndAvenueandNorth High Streets where protesters had gathered around 9 p.m. May 30.

The lawsuit accuses police officers of suddenly firing projectiles at the protesters. Awooden bullet struck Calvey in the chin, and the injury she sustained could cause permanent scarring, the suit states.

“Even though the City’s highly paid private lawyers had no evidence or basis whatsoever to question Ms. Calvey’s claim or her injuries, and they agree shewas likely struck by a police-fired projectile, they label her complaint as unfounded,” Gittes said.

One of the new plaintiffs in the case is Justin Horn, 44, who is from Hamilton County. Horn cametoDowntown Columbus on May 30 to take part in the demonstrations with his son and nephew.

Horn shot videotape of the interactions between police officersandprotesters, which attorney Sean Walton said showed often violent and aggressive action by police.

The lawsuit alleges that whenHornwaswalkingaway around 5:30 p.m.,he was tackled by two Columbus police officers.

Horn suffered a dislocated shoulder, but said he was not given medical attention and was handcuffed with his hands behind his back and left in a cruiser for four hours.