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A D.C. man is suing a Metro Transit Police officer, saying the cop violated his civil right to free speech for arresting him when he spoke up as police threw a friend in a wheelchair to the ground during an arrest last spring.
Lawrence Miller, 33, filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Metro Transit Officer Fred Price. The American Civil Liberties Union is representing him.
Price could not be reached for comment. Metro, which likely will represent the officer, who was on duty at the time, said it doesn’t comment on pending or active litigation.
The suit is the latest twist in the May 2011 arrest of Dwight Harris, a man who sells the homeless-issues newspaper Street Sense from his wheelchair. A video of the incident went viral on YouTube and raised questions about the police officers’ actions.
The video of the May incident shows two officers confront Harris near the U Street Metro station and then appear to pull him from his motorized wheelchair and push him to the ground. He lay bleeding and handcuffed facedown on the sidewalk.
Miller asked the officers why Harris was arrested. When told that Harris attempted to assault an officer, the suit says, Miller asked, “Really? This guy really assaulted you?”
</div> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Miller, who was wearing a dark-blue hoodie, can be seen walking away at the end of the tape with a transit officer following him. </span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>He was arrested and spent about four hours in detention, he said. Charges against Miller — which included disorderly conduct and assaulting an officer — were dropped, according to the suit.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Charges against Harris of assaulting an officer and drinking in public also were dropped. Federal investigators decided not to pursue criminal civil rights charges against the police officers, citing insufficient evidence.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>”We think that the Metro police need to take a remedial course in the Constitution,” said Fritz Mulhauser, an ACLU senior staff attorney who is representing Miller. He said citizens are free to observe police and criticize their actions. </span></p> <p><span style=”font-style:italic;” class=”EndEmailTag”><i><a href=” mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]</a></i></span></p>
