A federal appellate court on Thursday ruled in favor of UC Berkeley police officers who struck protesters with batons during a 2011 Occupy protest, dismissing the demonstrators’ claims that the officers used excessive force.
None of the 29 people who sued required medical treatment for their injuries or were unable to return to the protest, according to the summary of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ opinion. Though striking the protesters with batons was “generally intrusive, the amount of force applied was minimal,” the summary states, adding that officers needed to use minimal force “to maintain order and enforce University policy.”
The confrontation occurred during one of the more violent of several Occupy protests at UC Berkeley in 2011. Police were seen hitting protesters with batons and roughing up others who had linked arms in an effort to prevent removal of a few tents on Sproul Plaza.
The plaintiffs accused seven administrators and nine police officers from UC Berkeley and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office of civil rights violations, and asked for $7.5 million in general damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages.
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