
© Adrees Latif / ReutersProtesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump take cover as they are hit by pepper spray by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington, DC, US, January 20, 2017
A 10-year-old boy and his mother are suing Washington, DC police officers for unlawfully pepper spraying them during a roundup of protesters on President Donald Trump's Inauguration Day.
The
complaint filed Wednesday says that Gwen Frisbie-Fulton and her son, identified only as as "AS" - since he was 10 at the time -
were peacefully demonstrating when police kettled protesters at 12th and L Streets on January 20, 2017.
The lawsuit says police discharged pepper-spray in "supersoaks." Frisbie-Fulton and her son tried to escape the spraying, but AS was knocked back into the group by a line of officers.
"I was terrified for my son's safety. When he was knocked down, I instinctually jumped on top of him to cover his body with mine," said Frisbie-Fulton said in an ACLU statement. "
We are told police are there to keep us safe, but on Inauguration Day they were the ones who put us in danger."
Comment: Accidents happen. The boy could have broken both wrists even under supervision. The effects of gravity hold up even in our overly litigious society.