Excessive Force Suit Brought by Indians Against NY State Police Allowed to Proceed

An excessive force lawsuit brought against the New York State Police by a group of Indians can proceed through the courts. That's the ruling from a federal judge in Syracuse. US District Judge Frederick Scullin determined there's enough questions of fact for a jury to decide the claims of 65 protesters who say troopers used excessive force and violated their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The lawsuit stems from a confrontation at a 1997 protest staged by Indians who were blocking Interstate 81 where it runs through the Onondaga Indian Nation, just south of Syracuse. About two dozen demonstrators were arrested protesting a sales-tax agreement between Onondaga Nation chiefs and the Pataki administration. The protesters claimed dozens of troopers used excessive force to quell the protest when it spilled onto I-81. Charges were dismissed against all but one protester, who was acquitted following a jury trial. [more]