Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- August 29, 2020
- Location
- Washington, District of Columbia
- Targets
- Bryan Dozier (Independent)
- Case number
- 1:21-cv-02158
- Case Status
- Ongoing
- Type of case
- Civil
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
A police officer sprays chemical irritant at a Black Lives Matter protest in Washington, D.C., on August 29, 2020. Photojournalist Bryan Dozier sued the D.C. police after his assault while documenting the protest.
Appeals court reverses dismissal of journalist’s lawsuit against DC police
Independent photojournalist Bryan Dozier’s claims of state law violations by Washington, D.C., police at 2020 Black Lives Matter protests were revived by an appeals court on Aug. 9, 2024, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Dozier was documenting the protests when Metropolitan Police Department officers began to deploy chemical irritants and stun grenades in violation of district law, said a lawsuit filed August 2021 in U.S. District Court by the American Civil Liberties Union of D.C. on behalf of Dozier and photojournalist Oyoma Asinor.
One officer pushed Dozier into a cloud of irritants and the resulting physical and psychological effects induced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, alleged the August 2021 suit.
State law claims by both journalists against the District and two MPD officers include assault and battery and unlawful use of chemical irritants and less-lethal projectiles. Asinor also argued that MPD’s retention of his camera and cellphone for nearly a year was a violation of both the Fourth and Fifth amendments and of D.C. law.
In August 2022, the district judge dismissed the journalists’ lawsuit, ruling that they had failed to state a claim for the constitutional violations and that the state law claims should be adjudicated in local court instead. The journalists appealed the dismissal.
In August 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned the dismissal, remanding all claims to the U.S. District Court for further adjudication. The ruling not only revives the journalists’ suit but also includes an interpretation of Fourth Amendment protections unusual among appellate courts, The Washington Post reported.
Introducing a significant new protection for journalists whose property is seized by law enforcement, the court, referring to Asinor’s Fourth Amendment claim over MPD’s retention of his equipment, argued that property, not just people, is protected against indefinite police detention.
“This case is a major win for civil rights and civil liberties, as it makes clear that the Fourth Amendment not only governs the ability of law enforcement to seize property, but also how long officers can hold what they take,” said ACLU attorney Michael Perloff, who is part of the team representing the journalists.
Judge dismisses photojournalists’ lawsuit against DC government, police
A district judge for the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit from independent photojournalists Bryan Dozier and Oyoma Asinor against the DC government and multiple Metropolitan Police Department officers on Aug. 29, 2022.
Dozier alleged that exactly two years prior — on Aug. 29, 2020 — officers targeted him with chemical irritants and stun grenades while covering Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C. Asinor was arrested, assaulted and his camera equipment seized on Aug. 31.
The American Civil Liberties Union of DC filed a lawsuit on the photojournalists’ behalf in August 2021.
District Court Judge Amit Mehta granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss some of the claims on Aug. 29, 2022, ultimately extending his judgment to include all of the remaining claims and therefore ruling in favor of the DC government and officers.
In his ruling, Mehta declined to exercise federal jurisdiction, writing that the photojournalists’ claims both under the District’s First Amended Assemblies Act and of assault and battery would be better addressed in local courts.
The ruling can be appealed, but the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to confirm whether the photojournalists intend to do so.
Bryan Dozier, an independent photojournalist, was covering Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 29, 2020, when he was targeted by chemical irritants and stun grenades by Metropolitan Police officers, according to an American Civil Liberties Union of DC lawsuit filed on Dozier’s behalf.
In August 2021, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the D.C. government and the MPD officers, based on this incident and another involving independent photographer Oyoma Asinor. The Tracker documented Asinor’s arrest, assault and equipment seizure here.
Dozier was documenting the BLM protests in central D.C. when police deployed chemical irritants and stun grenades, even though these tactics have been banned by the D.C. Council for dispersing protesters, according to the legal documents issued by the ACLU, and reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Dozier did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s use of chemical irritants and stun grenades violated the D.C. First Amendment Assemblies Act and D.C. common law, according to the ACLU.
On that day protesters gathered at about 7 p.m. and arrived at the junction of 16th Street and H Street NW, near Black Lives Matter Plaza, around 11 p.m.
At about 11.30 p.m. Dozier saw one of the officers closest to a barricade on H Street shove a demonstrator. When the protesters near the individual yelled at the officer, Dozier moved closer to film the incident, according to the document.
Dozier, whose work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, the Financial Times, and The Guardian, did not see any demonstrator touch the officers, throw objects at the officers, or do anything other than continue to verbally protest.
But a Metro Police officer who was standing farther west on H Street, by or behind the H Street barricade, released a munition into H Street. Dozier heard “a hissing sound, like pressure being released, and then saw some form of gas or smoke with chemical irritants ascend rapidly,” the report said.
The smoke prompted Dozier and many protesters to back farther away from the barricade. As protesters were moving back, a second officer released another munition, causing more smoke or gas with chemical irritants to fill the air.
The document stated: “Despite Mr. Dozier’s attempt to retreat, the irritants made contact with him and caused him to cough. Dozier ran east on H Street toward its intersection with Vermont Avenue to escape. Many demonstrators started running in that direction too.”
Near the intersection, Dozier saw officers wearing riot gear with helmets and batons marching forward in a line spanning the width of H Street. As Dozier was looking for an exit, the riot officers marched through the intersection and past him.
But suddenly one police officer grabbed Dozier, “lifted him, and pushed him west on H Street, through the line of riot officers that had just passed by him, and back near the clouds of chemical irritants produced by the two munitions Mr. Dozier had been running from.”
Dozier was forced to continue west on H Street, through the clouds of irritants. He “struggled to breathe as he moved through the chemical irritants. He continued to cough, his nose ran, and he felt burning across his face. He continued west on H Street, then turned north onto 16th Street.”
Another officer began deploying a series of at least six stun grenades in close succession, near the intersection of 16th and H Streets. At that time, Dozier said he had not seen any protester make contact with officers, throw objects at them or engage in any violent behavior, the document reported.
Dozier, who was described in the document as terrified and disorientated, feared that “either the officers or explosive devices deployed by the officers” would hit him. At that point Dozier left the protest and went home.
For about 30 minutes after returning to his apartment, “he felt intense burning in his eyes and could feel the sting of the irritants in his nose and throat. He took a shower to wash off the irritants but continued to feel a burning sensation on his skin. After the shower, he dry heaved for approximately half an hour,” the document stated.
The Aug. 29 attack caused Dozier “significant psychological distress, the effects of which continue to this day.” The legal document reported that Dozier met with a psychologist after the incident, who noted that he had several symptoms consistent with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that he continues to experience some of the PTSD symptoms, including “heightened sensitivity to loud noises, sudden, unexpected anxiety attacks, and a fear of being trapped with no ability to exit. He additionally continues bi-weekly therapy sessions, which help him deal with his PTSD symptoms.”
MPD told the Tracker they did not comment on active cases.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
