By Olivia Verde. Bay City News
The civil rights attorney John Burris announced a federal lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of a Roe v. Wade protester alleging that while she was in an act of civil disobedience, members of the San Francisco police and fire departments injected her with an unknown sedative without consent.
On June 13, Kareim McKnight and her friend Amanda Piasecki went to the Golden State Warriors game against the Boston Celtics at the Chase Center in San Francisco. They didn't have the playoffs on their minds, but the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The civil rights lawsuit filed against the city, its police and fire departments in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California states that McKnight and Piasecki paid for their tickets and brought a banner that read, "Overturn Roe? Hell no," which was held up during the first quarter.
They chanted "abortion on demand and without apology. Without this basic right, women cannot be free. Stand up for abortion rights," according to a statement from Burris' firm.
NBA security guards surrounded the couple and grabbed their hands and feet when they reached the main floor. The two women continued chanting and were then dragged out of the arena and turned over to police, according to videos of the night included in the lawsuit.
Outside the arena, Piasecki was immediately released, but footage shows McKnight was restrained and handcuffed. A San Francisco police officer threatened her with a sedative, which she adamantly refused, and she was placed on a gurney and strapped down. McKnight says San Francisco fire department personnel injected her with a sedative anyway.
"Giving an injection to a protester against her will is shocking and illegal," explained Burris, McKnight's attorney. "There was no evidence that Ms. McKnight was a danger to herself or anyone else. She was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and she was protesting and making herself heard. That in itself cannot justify injecting a foreign substance into a person without proof of a medical or safety need, which was not the case with Ms. McKnight."
In Burris' long law career, he said he had never encountered a protester being sedated while sane, non-violent and practicing civil disobedience.
McKnight says she was not asked about pre-existing medical conditions or allergies before she was drugged, leading Burris to believe the sedative was mean, dangerous and meant to silence her. She hopes this case will force police to develop a strict policy when it comes to administering sedatives.
Jonathan Baxter, public information officer for the San Francisco Fire Department, said he could not comment on the pending lawsuit, but noted that the department's paramedics are authorized to administer the sedative Midazolam when a person is "severely agitated as to pose a danger to self or others."
McKnight said the sedative made her sluggish and made it difficult for her to speak. Noting her friend's release, McKnight, a woman of African descent, questioned the police's motives. When asked why they gave her injections, the officers said it was for her safety, which McKnight said was ridiculous and a cover to punish her for protesting at a critical playoff game.
"I have to ask," McKnight said in a video. "Is this something that you reserve for black people?".
San Francisco police were not immediately available for comment. The San Francisco Fire Department referred inquiries about the lawsuit to the city attorney's office, which was also not immediately available for comment.
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