Judge temporarily bans Detroit police from chokeholds, rubber bullets against protesters

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From https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-detroit-idUSKBN25W09S

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020 / 1:54 AM / UPDATED 9 HOURS AGO

Judge temporarily bans Detroit police from chokeholds, rubber bullets against protesters

Kanishka Singh
3 MIN READ

(Reuters) - A federal judge temporarily barred Detroit police from the use of striking weapons, chokeholds, chemical agents and rubber bullets against demonstrators, medical support personnel and legal observers in the city’s ongoing anti-racism protests.

U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Michelson partially granted a restraining order late on Friday after activist group “Detroit Will Breathe” alleged that the police had responded to peaceful demonstrations with “beatings, tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, sound cannons, flash grenades, chokeholds, and mass arrests without probable cause.”

The group said such police tactics were violations of “First and Fourth Amendment rights”, which include the practice of free speech, according to filings made in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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[MichMan]

1. Police Chief Craig says that has been their policy all along and nothing is changed

Detroit News story

Craig said since the judge's order bars action against "peaceful protesters," his officers needn't change what they've already been doing.

"The judge’s order is no different than what we’ve always done," Craig said. "Every time we've had to use less-than-lethal force, it's been to address violence by protesters, resisting arrest, or when they've tried to take over an intersection in violation of the law. Technically, nothing has changed."