BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A police use-of-force and discrimination lawsuit against the city of Burlington is moving forward.
The ACLU says a judge denied the city of Burlington’s motion to dismiss the case alleging police discrimination and use of excessive force against a Black teen with disabilities.
It stems from an incident in 2021 when the 14-year-old was accused of stealing several vape pens from a gas station. The lawsuit claims that officers escalated the encounter with threats and violence and that paramedics injected the teen with the anesthetic ketamine to calm him down.
The city argued qualified immunity but a judge sided with the ACLU and the case will continue.