Excerpt from Mission Local. Read the full article.
A federal judge said on Thursday that most of the civil rights claims against the San Francisco police department for its arrests during the 2023 Dolores Park hill bomb could go forward, potentially setting up the city to defend a costly class action lawsuit.
The judge’s orders allowed the lawsuit to proceed, but did not rule on whether its claims were valid, which would require a jury trial. The city could also settle with the plaintiffs out of court.
Three teenagers are suing the city of San Francisco, the San Francisco Police Department, and several officers and police brass for what they allege were civil rights violations during the July 8, 2023, incident; one of the previous plaintiffs has dropped out of the suit.
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Rachel Lederman, an attorney with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund who is representing the four teenagers in court, said she was pleased with the judge’s motions and “determined to obtain justice for the young people whose rights were violated.”
“All our main claims survived. The judge is really thinking about the case, so I feel very optimistic going forward,” she said, adding that the two parties will now move onto discovery to unearth evidence, but will also hold a conference in November to negotiate a possible settlement.