Monday will be the first inauguration since D.C. police made changes to its mass arrest policies, and police are preparing for the possibility of protests.
During President-elect Donald Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, D.C. police used chemical sprays as they rounded up more than 200 people in a mass arrest, but the District later paid $1.6 million to settle two lawsuits over how officers handled the situation.
More than 100 people sued D.C., saying they were peacefully protesting or observing and were detained for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They alleged they were handcuffed so tightly, they lost feeling in their hands. They said they didn’t get access to food, water or bathrooms for hours.
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Prosecutors later dropped almost all the charges.
“Unfortunately, over the years, many counter-inaugural demonstrations have been met with excessive force and other unconstitutional actions by the D.C. police,” said Scott Michelman, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia, which helped file one of the lawsuits.
As part of the settlement in 2021, D.C. government agreed to make changes to police policies on mass arrests, including:
- Giving people wristbands with ID numbers,
- Taking a picture of the person and the officer arresting them,
- Having three officers when a person is being searched when possible,
- Reducing delays in transport to the booking facility,
- And making sure people have access to restrooms and water.
“It is critical that our law enforcement lead by example in upholding and respecting demonstrators' First Amendment rights,” Michelman said.
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D.C. Police also agreed in the settlement to restrict use of sting balls or explosive devices in the future. Police are only supposed to roll them on the ground, not throw them in the air, except in extreme circumstances.
This week, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith spoke about how her department is preparing for Monday.
“Violence, destruction and unlawful behavior will not be tolerated,” she said at a public safety hearing. “Offenders will face swift and decisive consequences.”
D.C. police have dealt with numerous protests and mass arrests in recent years.
In 2020, officers arrested more than 100 racial justice protesters on Swann Street NW for violating curfew. Seven people arrested later sued, and an internal affairs investigation found officers did not use excessive force.
“We know we'll be able to rise to the challenge because we've done it before,” Smith said.
The ACLU said it sent letters to D.C. police and other agencies this week to remind them of the lawsuits and the resulting changes to the mass arrest policies.
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