A man sprayed by harmful, “military-grade tear gas,” during a protest over the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore has received $75,000 by a jury.
The New York Daily News reports that 26-year-old Larry Lomax was protesting during a Freddie Gray protest in May of 2015 when police officers sprayed him with harmful chemicals.
The video of the incident went viral and immediately rose to a symbol of abuse that protesters experienced days after Gray’s death in 2015.
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According to Lomax’s attorney, Wylie Stecklow, he was “thrilled” after winning the case. “He feels justice has been served and he feels vindicated that he stood up for himself and others in Baltimore.”
The court case was able to prove that an officer sprayed Lomax with a substance called CS spray. The spray contains chemicals that’s known to be used by military.
“This was the chemicals that was used against civil rights protesters during the march across the bridge in Selma,“ explained Stecklow. “CS is banned in international warfare, but somehow it is still used by police departments across the United States.”
Officers Lt. Christopher O’Ree and Sgt, Keith Gladstone were accused of, “battery and acting with excessive force.”
The video shows Lomax walking towards the officers daring them to do something when he was sprayed and forced to the grown. The chemicals from the spray got into Lomax’s mouth, nose and eyes causing him to be temporarily blinded and unable to breathe correctly.
Soon after he was thrown in a prison cell without receiving proper treatment for the chemicals in his eyes.
Lomax did plead guilty to charges of disorderly conduct however, his public defender Natalie Finegar appealed the verdict and jury from a Circuit Court acquitted him of all the charges against him.
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(Source: New York Daily News)
(Photo Credit: ThinkStock Images)
