An Occupy Portland protester who filed a lawsuit against city police for spraying pepper spray into her face and mouth has moved her complaint from Multnomah County Circuit Court to the U.S. District Court.

The two courts sit on opposite sides of Lownsdale Square, site of the long-running Occupy encampment.

Elizabeth Nichols, whose photo was captured in an iconic image in The Oregonian, originally filed her lawsuit in state court on Oct. 5. Her lawyers moved the suit on Friday into the federal court, which sits across the street.

The complaint accuses Portland police officers Doris Paisley and Jeffrey McDaniel of using excessive force against Nichols, who was arrested on Nov. 17 outside Chase Bank on the corner of Southwest Yamhill and Sixth Avenue. Nichols accuses Paisley of pushing her baton against Nichols' throat and shoving her backward, stopping her breathing.

When Nichols shouted back, the suit alleges, McDaniel shot pepper spray into her face.

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