Miami · A filmmaker who was making a documentary during the Free Trade Area of the Americas conference in November is suing the city and 10 Miami police officers after they allegedly shot him in the head with a bag of pellets.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday announced at a news conference that this was the first of many lawsuits it plans to file claiming civil rights violations during the conference. Filmmaker Carl Kesser filed his lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, seeking compensation for medical bills and lost wages.
The Police Department referred all calls about the lawsuit to the City Attorney's Office. Miami City Attorney Jorge L. Fernandez said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
The Nov. 17-21 meeting brought together business groups and trade ministers from all 34 nations in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean except Cuba. Police, fearful that protesters would create anarchy and spoil Miami's shot at becoming the FTAA headquarters, used rubber bullets and pepper spray to disperse crowds.
The lawsuit alleges that Kesser was on a sidewalk in downtown Miami filming when police in riot gear attempted to move a group of protesters. The suit claims officers fired "beanbags" into the crowd and Kesser was struck.
Kesser underwent a three-hour surgery to remove a sack the size of a golf ball lodged in his right temple, the lawsuit says. Part of Kesser's face is permanently paralyzed after a nerve was severed, and he still has trouble opening his mouth completely, he said at the news conference.
The department used the bags because they are supposed to be less lethal. However, the lawsuit says the police knew the sacks could cause serious injuries and death. Kesser tried to contact the city about his injury but received no response, the lawsuit says.
"I was not an angry protester," Kesser said, adding that he was trying to make a positive film to help lure the FTAA headquarters to Miami.
Miami officials spent more than $23 million on security, expecting as many as 100,000 demonstrators, but an estimated 10,000 showed up.
Since the 2003 event, the ACLU and others have criticized the city, saying police used excessive force and quashed people's right to protest. After the protests, ACLU officials said they received 150 complaints alleging police abuse.
"They brutalized Carl Kesser in the way they brutalized the First Amendment for thousands of people," said John DeLeon, an attorney with the ACLU.
Noaki Schwartz can be reached at nschwartz@sun-sentinel.com
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