Another says Mario Ortega, who has a Ph.D. in biology and biomedical sciences-neurosciences and was working at Washington University at the time, was struck by officers’ bicycles and pepper-sprayed and was kicked and hit when he asked if he could film the “activity” on his phone, causing lasting damage to a previously fractured wrist. His suit says he was kicked, punched, stepped on, dragged along the sidewalk and slammed into a building.

Blake Strode, executive director of ArchCity Defenders, said in statement that, “The kettling arrests of peaceful civilians that took place one year ago constituted a gross violation of the law and abuse of state power, and there are real human beings who suffered as a result. The message of these lawsuits is simple: when law enforcement officers, themselves, fail to follow the law, they must be held accountable.”

On the night of the kettle, officials said in a statement that the protest was peaceful until after dark, when “the agitators outnumbered the peaceful demonstrators and the unruly crowd became a mob.”