Fort Lauderdale police shot woman in the face with rubber bullet. Now she’s briefing Congress
LaToya Ratlieff — the woman Fort Lauderdale police shot in the face with a foam rubber bullet as she choked on tear gas at a George Floyd protest last month — will brief a congressional subcommittee Monday morning about her ordeal.
Ratlieff will speak remotely to the House of Representatives’ Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The briefing is being held to address “how the violent treatment of protesters and journalists across the country by federal and local law enforcement [has] violated the First Amendment,” the subcommittee said in a news release.
“I am grateful to the committee for offering me the opportunity to share my story and be a part of the conversation about needed reforms,” Ratlieff said in a statement. “History has shown us that those who are willing to fight for civil rights and justice are regarded as icons of justice while those who resist needed change to ensure equality are remembered as villains. We need our elected leaders to use this moment in history to enact reforms which make our systems of justice truly equal and to hold those to whom we grant power accountable when they abuse it.”
The 34-year-old nonprofit grant writer from Delray Beach was shot outside a city parking garage in downtown Fort Lauderdale following a peaceful march on May 31. She suffered a fractured eye socket and a gash that required 20 stitches. Ratlieff had been trying to calm protesters after a Fort Lauderdale officer shoved a kneeling woman in the head as many marchers were returning to their cars. The officer’s conduct led some protesters to hurl plastic water bottles and rocks. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets shortly before 7 p.m.
A few minutes later, Detective Eliezer Ramos, a member of the city’s SWAT team, shot Ratlieff in the head with a rubber bullet — an apparent violation of the department’s policy on so-called “less lethal” weapons. The policy says that officers should fire such projectiles at someone’s head only if deadly force is required. Ratlieff, blinded and choking on tear gas, was being led away from the scene by another protester when Ramos shot her. She had been kneeling in peaceful protest before being gassed.
In his official report, Ramos said he was aiming at a man 10 feet behind Ratlieff because the man had thrown a tear gas canister back at police. The officer is now the subject of an internal affairs investigation but remains on active duty, according to a police spokeswoman.
At first, police suggested they would not investigate the incident. And Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said Ratleiff shouldn’t have been in the area. But her shooting was captured in several videos and photographs that made clear she should not have been targeted.
“Videos captured on smart phones by protesters, journalists, and bystanders have proven to be essential in holding police accountable for their actions as police departments have issued numerous statements that are easily disproven by video evidence,” the subcommittee said.
The congressional briefing will take place at 10 a.m. and can be watched live on YouTube.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, sits on the subcommittee, as do Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, who have gained national attention for their views on civil rights and inequality.
Also scheduled to speak at the briefing are Tomiko Brown-Nagin, an expert in constitutional law and dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University; Linda Tirado, a journalist who was blinded in one eye after police shot her with a projectile during a protest in Minneapolis; and the Rev. Gini Gerbasi of Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.
The church is not the one with a similar name in Lafayette Square where President Donald Trump held a photo op after authorities attacked peaceful protesters with chemical agents and flash grenades to remove them from the area.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 9:44 AM.
