Navigation Woman shot in face with rubber bullet can’t sue individual Fort Lauderdale police officers, judge rules
A Florida woman who was shot in the face with a rubber projectile during a protest of George Floyd’s murder in 2020 cannot hold individual Fort Lauderdale police officers liable, but she can still seek civil damages from the city, a judge has ruled.
Federal Judge Rodolfo Ruiz of the Southern District of Florida handed down the 107-page opinion on Sept 4, concluding that plaintiff LaToya Ratlieff cannot hold the individual police officers liable for their response to violent events due to the officers’ qualified immunity. This protection shields many of the individual defendants in Ratieff’s lawsuit from liability for her injuries based on the plaintiff’s First Amendment claims, Ruiz said in his decision.
“On May 31, 2020, demonstrations protesting police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death occurred in various locations in and around downtown Fort Lauderdale …” the opinion states. “All parties agree that Ratlieff attended these demonstrations peacefully and did not herself engage in any acts of violence.”
