‘Your rights were violated’: BLM protesters sue Fort Lauderdale cops over brutal crackdown

Four years ago, LaToya Ratlieff was shot by police with rubber bullets, fracturing her eye socket, as she protested against police brutality in downtown Fort Lauderdale.



On Monday, attorney Michael Davis announced he filed a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Fort Lauderdale and its police department over officers’ response to the May 31, 2020 rally near the corner of Southeast 2nd Street and 1st Avenue.

It was in that same area where police unleashed tear gas and rubber bullets at Ratlieff and hundreds of people gathering to demand justice for George Floyd, who was killed days before by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd’s murder sparked the largest racial justice protests in the United States since the Civil Rights Movement — as it spearheaded thousands of Black Lives Matter demonstrations around the country.

The suit, Davis said, seeks justice for the protesters who witnessed a brutal crackdown while exercising their First Amendment rights. Specifically, they want law enforcement officers to be held accountable to prevent a similar situation from unfolding in the future.

“The City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department did not like their message...” Davis said. “And for an hour, they deployed tear gas and [kinetic impact projectiles] to make sure that they could not speak anymore.”

Although there had been no violent incidents during the rally, police said their heavy-handed tactics that evening were a response to an officer “screaming for help” over the radio as protesters attacked her unmarked police car, pounding on windows and jumping on the vehicle.

READ MORE: A Fort Lauderdale cop reported an attack by BLM protesters. Now, the story’s changing

During an interview with attorneys, the officer who made the initial distress call admitted that she never actually saw anyone damaging her vehicle or jumping on the trunk as described in her incident report, according to court documents from an ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit that Ratlieff filed in 2022. A forensic analysis of synchronized video and audio from the scene shows no evidence that protesters were surrounding the vehicle, which the officer reported when she radioed for backup.

The analysis, commissioned by Ratlieff’s attorneys and submitted as evidence, confirmed the findings of a Miami Herald investigation based on publicly available images at the time: the hours of violence between police and rally-goers erupted after an officer pushed a kneeling protester, prompting an angry response from the crowd. Video evidence shows police arriving to the scene following the distress call then began to deploy tear gas and hard-packed projectiles without warning.

‘We just want better’

At the Monday news conference, Ratlieff recalled feeling proud seeing people from diverse backgrounds and walks of life come together for the sake of justice. But her memories of unity were tainted later that day.



“They’ve taken away something from me that was supposed to be a moment where I could say I was able to be a part of something and I was able to use my voice to say: ‘We just want better,’” she said.

To Ratlieff’s side were Jayanna Jackson and Mike Gabelus, who were also protesting when police deployed tear gas at the crowd. Jackson, a mother of four, said she, heartbroken by Floyd’s death, turned out to fight for her children’s future but ended up fearing for her safety.

Gabelus was steps away when Ratlieff was shot. He didn’t know her, he said, but rushed to her aid. He helped the injured woman get into the car of a stranger, who drove her to a nearby hospital.

Standing with Jackson and Gabelus, Ratlieff urged anyone else subjected to the crackdown during the rally to come forward and join the lawsuit. Anyone who was present during the rally can contact Kuehne Davis Law, P.A. at Protest@FLProtest.com.

“If you were forced to leave the protest because of tear gas and rubber bullets, your rights were violated,” Ratlieff said.

Enraged by the brutality she experienced, Ratlieff and her legal team met with Fort Lauderdale police leadership, offering a list of reforms to improve public safety, including better training. For Ratlieff, the lawsuit is not merely focused on holding cops accountable for their wrongdoings, but also safeguarding Americans’ right to express dissent against injustices.

“If people aren’t even able to stand up and say that something isn’t right, ...then where are we as a country?” Ratlieff said.