Edrei v. Bratton

The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of defendants' motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity in a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action alleging that defendants, police officers, used excessive force when they used a long-range acoustic device (LRAD or sound gun) to disperse non-violent protesters. This appeal arose out of the NYPD's response to a December 2014 protest in Manhattan. The court held that purposefully using a LRAD in a manner capable of causing serious injury to move non‐violent protesters to the sidewalks violated the Fourteenth Amendment under clearly established law. The court noted that, when viewing the evidence from the perspective of a reasonable officer, defendants may yet be entitled to qualified immunity. View "Edrei v. Bratton" on Justia Law