Black Deaf man sues Austin police over injuries from summer protests
A Black Deaf man who lives in Austin, Tyree Talley, is filing a federal lawsuit against the City of Austin and its police department, alleging that police officers shot at him with riot control munitions without any warning during the weekend of May 30-31, 2020.
He was shot while protesting in front of the Austin Police Department headquarters. It was the first weekend after George Floyd’s death, which sparked nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.
Tyree posted pictures of his wounds on June 1. With his permission, I will show you a video clip and images, but I have to warn that they are graphic.
[Video of Talley being shot and crouched on the pavement in downtown Austin. Onlookers guide him to safety]
[FB Post by Tyree Talley
“This is an example of life as a black man. A deaf black man. I was doing absolutely nothing to incite violence, but instead invoking my right to protest peacefully with my friends. I was shot out of the blue 12 times (they shot at me roughly 30 to 40 times as you can hear in the video) and as you can see in the video, nothing was happening to incite violence or start any problems. This is most of the pictures and video of where all I was hit. This is also the video of when I was shot. 40 shots is absurd. Please tell me what I did to deserve this? Being black in America?”
[Images of Talley’s ankle and upper legs with bloody welts and circular bruises of varying pinkish/purplish colors]
Hendler Flores Law is representing Talley. The lawsuit said he was shot twelve times in the ear, arm, groin, and legs, and that ten of the bullets were fired after Tyree was on the ground.”
It pointed to an investigation by the Texas Tribune that found the munitions APD used that night were expired and had hardened over time, which caused more severe injuries.
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The lawsuit says Austin police officers violated Tyree’s civil rights as a peaceful protester and violated his ADA rights because they did not make any attempt to communicate with him to clear the area before they shot in the crowd. Here is a screenshot from the lawsuit.
[Screenshot: image of Tyree crouched on the street, clutching his eyes in pain. There are police officers in riot gear standing on top of an embankment with fog swirling around them. There are other protesters crouched down on a sidewalk. One of them is standing up with a sign that says, “Silence is TREASON.”
The lawsuit document says, “15. This photo taken by a member of the media at the same time as the second screenshot above at paragraph 14 shows the Good Samaritan tending to Tyree:’]
The lawsuit said police officers intended to inflict extreme and severe mental and emotional harm and that they were negligent when they used expired munitions against protesters. The lawsuit seeks recovery of damages for the pain, suffering, and economic damages associated with the incident such as out-of-pocket expenses, medical costs, weeks of missed work, and legal fees.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
KXAN News reported this lawsuit and received a statement from the City of Austin that said, “as with all of the claims and lawsuits the City has received related to the summer protests, we will handle it respectfully and fairly. Each case is different, and we will review the facts and circumstances and advise our clients as appropriate.”
The attorney that is representing Tyree, Rebecca Webber, said there are several lawsuits in the Austin area over protesters being severely injured by expired munitions.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/lawsuit-apd-officer-shot-multiple-non-lethal-rounds-at-deaf-man-at-may-2020-protest-without-alerting-him/