Lawsuit filed against LEARNS Act claims it’s unconstitutional

Author: Ashley Godwin (THV11)
Published: 10:12 PM CDT March 25, 2024
Updated: 10:12 PM CDT March 25, 2024

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Attorney Mike Laux has now filed a lawsuit against Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Education Secretary Jacob Oliva.

The lawsuit claims section 16 of LEARNS, which bans the “indoctrination” of students, is unconstitutional, and that it infringes on the First and Fourteenth Amendments rights.

“They are not just trying to erase Civil Rights history [and] African American history. They are trying to erase the state’s history,” said Mike Laux in a press conference held on Monday afternoon.

At the center of the lawsuit is a Central High School teacher and her students.

Ruthie Walls has received pushback from the state over her teaching of AP African American Studies. The state has said the course could be indoctrinating kids with Critical Race Theory.

“Initially I was shocked, but I turned around and I quickly gathered my thoughts and I went back to my room to start preparing,” said Walls. “I knew I had 100 students showing up, and regardless of what the state did, those students were coming Monday and they deserve an education.”

The African American Studies course is still taught at Central High School and at five other schools in the state— but only as a local elective course.

However, the state does not cover the cost for students to take the AP test.

One of her students, Sadie Bell Reynolds, is also included in the lawsuit.

“I have never felt shamed in Ms. Walls’ classroom for learning about another’s perspective. It’s just what has happened in our history,” said Reynolds.

Governor Sanders responded to the lawsuit in a statement that said:

“In the state of Arkansas, we will not indoctrinate our kids and teach them to hate America or each other. It’s sad the radical left continues to lie and play political games with our kids’ futures.”

For a link to view the full lawsuit that was filed, please click here.

Federal lawsuit filed against CHI St. Vincent & UAMS Police

by: Neale Zeringue on Fox16.com
Posted: Jul 7, 2022 / 09:15 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 8, 2022 / 07:45 AM CDT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The family of a Pine Bluff man killed by police has filed a federal lawsuit against authorities and local hospitals.

Authorities say 39-year-old Tyrone Washington was behind the wheel of a stolen car on December 3, 2020, when according to the Pulaski County Prosecutor, an officer justifiably used deadly force to protect fellow police. Washington’s family says that leaves out vital details.

In Tyrone’s aunt, Patricia Washington’s words, “He needed help, and he did not get the right help.”

The family’s 27-page lawsuit states Washington was in the middle of a mental health crisis and had gone to CHI St. Vincent and UAMS the two days before his death.

The family’s 27-page lawsuit states Washington was in the middle of a mental health crisis and had gone to CHI St. Vincent and UAMS the two days before his death.

Civil rights attorney Michael Laux alleges, “It was noted in his chart that he was a schizophrenic who had not seen a physician in a while and was no longer on medication.”

He argues that is what brought Washington to UAMS’s campus in the early morning where the lawsuit states a UAMS employee witnesses said after the fact Washington was “mumbling”, “scared”, “acting crazy” and claiming to be chased by someone with a machete.

Civil rights attorney Michael Laux alleges, “It was noted in his chart that he was a schizophrenic who had not seen a physician in a while and was no longer on medication.”

He argues that is what brought Washington to UAMS’s campus in the early morning where the lawsuit states a UAMS employee witnesses said after the fact Washington was “mumbling”, “scared”, “acting crazy” and claiming to be chased by someone with a machete.

Tyrone’s daughter, Taelor Washington said through tears, “I’ll never get to have a father and daughter dance, and it’s so hard looking at my brothers because they look just like him. I just really miss him.”

How UAMS Police approached Washington is also being cited in the lawsuit. It claims their actions deviated from policies concerning those with disabilities.

However, UAMS sent a statement regarding the lawsuit claiming no wrongdoing. It says,

“Our hearts go out to the family of Tyrone Washington. Officer Watson believed the life of her fellow officer, who was being dragged by a stolen vehicle driven by Mr. Washington, was in danger. She acted to save her fellow officer’s life. The Arkansas State Police and the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office conducted an investigation of the incident and found no wrongdoing by the officer or UAMS.” -Leslie Taylor, UAMS Vice Chancellor, Communications

The Washington family disagrees and says they are willing to argue so to the highest courts.

While shaking her head, Tyrone’s grandmother insisted, “It was just wrong. He did not deserve that.”

Our station also reached out to CHI St. Vincent, but their public relations team said the hospital does not comment on pending litigation.

Family of man killed by UAMS Police officer files federal lawsuit

Tyrone Washington's family gathers at the Thursday press conference. Photo by Brian Chilson.

Posted Arkansas Times BY Mary Hennigan ON July 7, 2022

The family of Tyrone Washington, who was shot and killed Dec. 3, 2020 by a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Police officer, has filed a federal lawsuit against a number of UAMS Police officers, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson and St. Vincent’s Hospital. Attorney Mike Laux, who has filed a number of federal lawsuits over alleged police misconduct in Little Rock, is leading the case.

The lawsuit includes five complaints that allege violations to Washington’s civil rights, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Laux announced the lawsuit Thursday at Allison United Presbyterian Church in Little Rock surrounded by Washington’s family. Several members of Washington’s family — including his three children, grandmother, aunt and sister — were in attendance and often emotional.

“It’s been really hard waking up every morning and feeling like you have a hole in your heart,” Washington’s son, Tyrin said.

Washington, 39, was diagnosed with having schizophrenia as early as 2017, Laux said. His shooting death could have been avoided if UAMS officers recognized the need for treatment for Washington’s condition, he said.

At the press conference, Laux played UAMS security footage that showed Washington driving a truck while a man who he identified as UAMS Police Lt. Howard Redd hangs from the truck. UAMS Police Officer Krystal Watson then shoots Washington and the truck slows to a halt. Laux said the footage contradicts officers’ claims that Washington was using the truck as a weapon. Just after Washington was shot, the video appears to skip ahead and several more officers appear. This is being analyzed, Laux said.

 

LAUX: Attorney Mike Laux explains the events leading to Tyrone Washington’s death. A computer shows Washington in critical condition at UAMS after being shot.

“Officer Watson believed the life of her fellow officer, who was being dragged by a stolen vehicle driven by Mr. Washington, was in danger,” Taylor said. “She acted to save her fellow officer’s life. The Arkansas State Police and the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office conducted an investigation of the incident and found no wrongdoing by the officer or UAMS.”

The video evidence shows footage of Washington’s final moments, but the story starts a few days earlier, Laux said.

On Dec. 1, 2020, Washington was a patient at UAMS with concerns of back pain. According to the complaint, it was during this visit that staff had access to his records and could see the schizophrenia diagnosis — and that he hadn’t recently visited a doctor and had gone weeks without medication.

The next evening, Washington was taken by ambulance to CHI St. Vincent’s Hospital, where Laux said staff reported common symptoms of his condition, such as an inappropriate mood and affective flattening, which is a diminished emotional expression. The lawsuit reports that he didn’t receive psychiatric care at St. Vincent’s. He was discharged at 1:24 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2020.

Laux and Washington’s family said they believe that he walked from St. Vincent to UAMS to receive care. He found an unlocked, idling pick-up truck on the campus, and started to drive it. Washington never left the UAMS campus in the truck, Laux said.

Shortly after, Todd Kirkland called the Little Rock Police Department to report his missing truck. He also told the LRPD that Washington was acting strangely. The LRPD relayed the information from this call to Watson, according to the lawsuit.

Three nurses encountered Washington around 2:45 a.m. as he was driving. They described him as acting paranoid and said he reported being chased by a guy with a machete. They said he was “acting crazy” and “erratic,” according to the lawsuit. The nurses returned to work without reporting their experience.

About 10 minutes after his encounter with the nurses, the surveillance video captures Washington in the parking area, where Redd has blocked his path with a police vehicle. Laux said Redd then grabbed hold of the truck’s steering wheel and was drug several feet. Watson ran alongside the car before ultimately shooting Washington. He was taken inside UAMS to be treated for his injuries, where he later passed away.

Redd, who was named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, died in January 2021. Contacted after the press conference, Laux said he could file an amended complaint.

“I think that when police officers engage in this kind of force … we fail to realize the wake that is left,” Laux said.

Washington’s sister, LaShaun McFadden, said that he would take care of her lawn, and if he couldn’t, it was because he was helping someone else. They shared the difficulties of continuing their lives without their relative.

“It’s so hard to look at my brothers because they look just like him,” daughter Taelor Washington said.

Laux stressed the importance of this case to bring justice to the family and community.

“We’re going to take this one as far as we have to take it,” he said. “This is a big one. We’re not going to let go of this one.”

Tyrone Washington's family gathers at the Thursday press conference. Photo by Brian Chilson.

Family of Pine Bluff man files federal lawsuit against UAMS police, St. Vincent over his 2020 shooting death

Attorney Mike Laux (left) sits alongside Lashaun McFadden and Xavier Washington, 10, Tyrone Washington’s sister and son, during a press conference on Thursday. Washington was shot and killed by UAMS police on Dec. 3, 2020. More photos at arkansasonline.com/78lawsuit/. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)

Mental-health crisis ignored, attorney says

Posted in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by Grant Lancaster | July 8, 2022 at 7:05 a.m.

The family of a man shot and killed by UAMS police officers in December 2020 filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging that the officers involved reacted improperly to what the family says was clearly a schizophrenic episode, and that UAMS and CHI St. Vincent Infirmary failed to properly treat the man immediately before the shooting.

The Dec. 3, 2020, death of 39-year-old Tyrone Washington represented an “institutional failure” of UAMS police and of the health care providers at UAMS and St. Vincent, said Mike Laux, the attorney who filed the suit on the family’s behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

“This is the result of a man seeking mental health help at two different facilities,” Laux said at a news conference Thursday at Allison United Presbyterian Church, where he was joined by Washington’s family, including Washington’s sister and children.

Laux said the lawsuit contends that UAMS police used excessive force and violated Washington’s Fourth Amendment rights, that UAMS police officer Krystal Watson caused Washington’s wrongful death, that Watson and UAMS police Lt. Howard Redd caused Washington personal injury and suffering, that the officers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to treat him as someone suffering from mental illness and that UAMS and St. Vincent personnel violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act by not properly treating Washington when he was in their care.

Attorney Mike Laux (left) sits alongside Lashaun McFadden and Xavier Washington, 10, Tyrone Washington’s sister and son, during a press conference on Thursday. Washington was shot and killed by UAMS police on Dec. 3, 2020. More photos at arkansasonline.com/78lawsuit/. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)

The act, referred to as EMTALA, was passed in 1986 and requires emergency departments at any hospital that accepts Medicare or Medicaid to stabilize and treat anyone coming to them, whether or not they can pay for it, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Washington was shot around 2:45 a.m. near the UAMS emergency department in a truck that he stole from the parking lot. UAMS surveillance video released by Laux shows the truck pulling forward into the frame with officers running alongside it.

One officer, who Laux identified as Redd, is hanging onto the side of the truck and falls off onto the ground as the truck moves at a slow speed.

Immediately as Redd falls, Watson shoots Washington in the head, fatally wounding him. The truck stops, with Redd on the pavement near the rear passenger side wheel.

An investigation by Arkansas State Police and the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney’s office found the actions of the UAMS officers justified.

In a statement Thursday, Leslie Taylor, UAMS vice chancellor for communications and marketing, wrote that “our hearts go out” to Washington’s family over his death.

However, Taylor wrote, Watson acted to save Redd’s life, and reiterated that the independent investigation by state police and the prosecutor’s office cleared Watson, Redd and the other officers.

But Laux said he doesn’t think that investigation was thorough, and his account of events differs from the police narrative.

A Dec. 3 news release from state police said that officers were trying to keep Washington from leaving the UAMS campus, and that an officer — the officers involved had not yet been named — reached inside the truck to grab the keys when Washington accelerated, dragging the officer.

But Laux said that Washington, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2017, never meant to leave UAMS. He was there to get treatment during his episode, and was trying to get attention by driving the truck around the campus after he found it idling with the doors unlocked and the key in the ignition.

Washington was driving around the campus in the vehicle, Laux said. Washington spoke to at least three UAMS nurses after stealing the truck but before the shooting, Laux said, and all of them gave statements saying Washington was “acting crazy,” repeatedly opening and closing the truck door and telling them he was being chased by someone with a machete, a delusion.

“This is not the act of someone doing grand theft auto, this is someone who is looking for attention, trying to get help,” Laux said.

Washington was treated for back pain at UAMS on Dec. 1, and his chart from that time indicates that staff there knew he had schizophrenia and had not been taking medication for it, Laux said.

However, Washington did not begin showing obvious symptoms of his mental illness until Dec. 2, Laux said, when he was released from UAMS and went to St. Vincent’s emergency room.

There, Laux said, doctors noted that he was cooperative but had a flat affect, a telltale sign of a schizophrenic episode. But they didn’t treat him, instead releasing him late on Dec. 2.

“We believe this should have raised red flags for any medical provider,” Laux said Thursday. “If St. Vincent’s had [treated Washington], we wouldn’t be here today.”

Washington was staying with his sister at the time, but St. Vincent staff likely wouldn’t have known that, Laux said, meaning they released a man they thought was suffering from schizophrenia and homeless.

From St. Vincent, Washington likely walked to UAMS, where he stole the truck and spoke with the nurses, who Laux thinks should have realized Washington needed treatment, based on the schizophrenia diagnosis noted on his chart at UAMS a day or so before.

The nurses “did nothing and reported this to no one,” Laux said, accusing them of not even taking Washington’s name so they could look at his medical chart.

Laux said that when police arrived, he thinks they acted improperly and in opposition to the way police are generally trained to handle people suffering from mental heath crises, he said.

Laux said he had not been able to get a copy of the UAMS police’s policies, which he called “closely guarded,” but he said other departments including Little Rock police, where Watson served prior to joining UAMS, would caution officers against behaving the way they did Dec. 3.

Xavier Washington, 10, Tyrone Washington’s son, during a press conference on Thursday. Washington was shot and killed by UAMS police on Dec. 3, 2020. More photos at arkansasonline.com/78lawsuit/. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)

The officers “spooked” Washington, Laux said, by trying to box him in with vehicles, some of which had lights and sirens on. This is contrary to how most police are trained to deal with people suffering from mental health issues, Laux said.

Laux said he blames Redd, who he called “a bigshot good ol’ boy,” for putting himself in danger by trying to stop the truck. Laux said he thinks that danger was what led Watson to shoot Washington, believing Redd’s life was at risk.

“Redd shouldn’t be playing superhero in the first place,” Laux said.

The combination of UAMS and St. Vincent staffs’ failure to treat Washington in their emergency departments despite the requirements of EMTALA and the “poor decisions” of the UAMS officers led to Washington’s shooting, Laux said.

“You remove any one of these circumstances from the equation, and we’re probably not here today,” Laux said.

Laux was joined Thursday by Washington’s sister LaShaun McFadden and his children — Taelor, Tyrin and a younger boy.

“It’s so hard because my brothers, they look just like him,” Taelor Washington said, fighting back tears.

“I got a little brother, he’s gotta grow up without a father now, I gotta take that role,” Tyrin Washington said tearfully.

Faye Chidester, who referred to herself as “an auntie,” said that police murdered Washington.

“What happened to him was unjustified, it was cruel and unlawful,” Chidester said.

Lashaun McFadden Tyrone Washington’s sister, during a press conference on Thursday. Washington was shot and killed by UAMS police on Dec. 3, 2020. More photos at arkansasonline.com/78lawsuit/. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)

Norman girls basketball team and attorneys speak in press conference after racial slur heard on hot mic

The Norman High School girls basketball team along with their attorneys held a press conference after the players were the subject of racist comments from an announcer.

An expletive and a racial slur were heard on a hot mic as the Norman basketball team knelt during the national anthem.

“This was more than just a racial slur, as ugly as it was, this was the imposition of a bankrupt philosophy on these young women,” attorney Mike Laux said.

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City of Little Rock settles racial discrimination lawsuit; LRPD officers speak out

City of Little Rock settles racial discrimination lawsuit; LRPD officers speak out

Capt. Tanya Washington, Lt. Earnest Whitten, Sgt. Willie Davis, and Lt. Johnny D Gilbert, Jr. filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the city on March 12, 2018 due to uneven practices in hiring, discipline and the promotion of minority officers. The complaints began in 2017.

KATV spoke with two of the four officers who filed the suit two years ago. They said this was a cause worth standing for, not just for their case, but for other minority officers in the future.

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Woman says Louisville police lied to her about rape investigation

Matthew Glowicki for the Courier Journal

Published June 19, 2018 | Updated June 29, 2019

More than 10 years after she says she was sexually assaulted, a woman is suing investigators with Louisville Metro Police claiming her case was mishandled and she was repeatedly lied to about its status.

“We trusted them,” said Salisa Luster Harrison, who says she was assaulted in her Louisville apartment by an unknown assailant. “We relied on them. We thought that they were going to do what they were supposed to do, but they did not.”

The Courier Journal typically does not name people who claim they were sexually assaulted but is doing so in this case because Luster Harrison has gone public with her lawsuit, including speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.

Claims made in a lawsuit represent only one side of the case. A police spokesman declined requests to discuss the case, saying the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Luster Harrison’s legal team includes Ben Crump, a Florida-based civil rights attorney known for taking on high-profile cases.

He represented the families of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old shot in February 2012 in Sanford, Florida, by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman; Michael Brown, an 18-year-old shot and killed in August 2014 by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri; and Alesia Thomas, a 35-year-old woman who died after being kicked and hit by a Los Angeles police officer.

Louisville attorney Lonita Baker and Chicago-based attorney Mike Laux also represent Luster Harrison.

Her 27-page lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, alleges she was treated differently by Louisville police because she is African-American and seeks unspecified damages. It names 10 current or former law enforcement members as defendants.

“At best they misled her, at worst they lied to her when they told her they had tested the rape kit,” Crump said at Tuesday’s press conference.

Officer Robert Woolridge responded to a welfare check on Luster Harrison — who had missed work — but failed to investigate or call for medical assistance despite the woman’s severe injuries, the suit alleges.

The suit adds that after she was taken to the hospital, Officer Brian Tucker launched an investigation but failed to collect vital evidence from the scene and interview obvious witnesses.

The suit alleges Woolridge and Tucker did not have the rape kit fully tested, yet told Luster Harrison and prosecutors it had been and that evidence was inconclusive. Both felony and misdemeanor prosecution was denied, according to the suit, and in 2009, the case was closed.

Then, in 2015, the case was reopened amid a statewide push to test old rape kits.

The lawsuit says that Luster Harrison’s mother, Cheryl Ellis, was told that the kit would be tested due to advances in technology and that Ellis obtained police emails in which the case was described as one that “fell through the cracks in a lot of areas.”

Luster Harrison said she was told in late 2016 by Special Victims Unit Lt. David Allen that new testing did not yield any new information, but the suit claims that testing was never performed.

Ellis and Luster Harrison said Tuesday they have fought for the last decade to get answers in the case, filing records requests and leaving messages with investigators.

Crump said at Tuesday’s press conference that the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office had gotten involved in the matter.

In a statement, an office spokesperson said, “Our office has provided victim advocacy services to the family and worked with LMPD to have the kit resubmitted to the crime lab.”

Crump said he has no information to suggest Luster Harrison’s rape kit was tested as part of a recent effort across the state to clear a backlog of untested kits.

A 2015 audit mandated by the state legislature found 3,090 kits in the property of law enforcement that were never tested for possible DNA evidence.

Since the audit, more than 3,100 kits have been tested as part of the backlog initiative.

Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com.

More victims claim LRPD raided homes using no knock warrants with SWAT teams

More victims claim LRPD raided homes using no knock warrants with SWAT teams

Lawyers for those who said Little Rock police have burst into their homes for no reason said they have as many 50 clients and are leveling accusations against the city.

Author: Rolly HoytPublished: 5:48 PM CST February 26, 2019Updated: 7:36 PM CST February 26, 2019

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Lawyers for those who said Little Rock police have burst into their homes for no reason said they have as many 50 clients and are leveling accusations against the city. They claim that the LRPD mandated using SWAT teams for every search warrant.

Attorneys Mike Laux and Benjamin Crump represent Roderick Talley, whose video of an explosive search of his apartment for drugs has millions of social media shares.

“It is a mandate from the office of the chief of police that the SWAT team executes all search warrants,” Laux said. He was reading from a partially redacted internal memo from 2014 that he says shows the department was under orders to come with as much force as possible when on narcotics raids.

“I literally thought that I was going to die,” said Samone Whitaker, who is the latest person to bring her story to the civil rights lawyers. “Then I hear ‘Police, search warrant’ and then I thought, ‘Oh my God they’re going to kill me.’”

Whitaker’s account matches Talley’s incident, which he captured on a home security camera. It features an explosive charge blowing his door across the room as he slept on a sofa followed by a team of officers in tactical gear and armed with rifles.

In many of the cases, including Talley’s the warrants were secured in expectation the subject would have large quantities of drugs and would be armed. Instead, the lawyers say police usually find only traces of marijuana. Laux said if those mistakes are happening because judges are just rubber-stamping warrant requests, the police are breaking the law.

“You have to articulate a basis for each and everyone,” Laux said. “That’s required by the Constitution.”

The lawyers said as more people have come forward, more of their charges are being dropped by prosecutors.

And they warn that a raid last month in Houston that left two people dead and injured five officers could easily happen here.

“Is it going to take somebody getting killed like in Houston to bring an end to these unconstitutional, unnecessary Little Rock no-knock raids,” Crump said.

Through a spokesperson, Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter refused to comment on the case because of the pending litigation.

The LRPD also withheld comment while promising a reporter to provide a number of search warrants the department issued this year and how many included a SWAT team.

Mayor Frank Scott Jr. has called for a task force to investigate the department’s policies. Laux and Crump said they are very encouraged by what they’ve heard from the Mayor since he took office.