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| Comanche water protector Eric Poemoceah being chased before he was pounced on and law enforcement broke his hip at Standing Rock, Feb. 22, 2024. Censored News live coverage. Standing Rock -- Police gang broke hip of Comanche water protector, now Bismarck officer facing justice |
BISMARCK, North Dakota -- When a gang of thirty law enforcement chased and pounced on Comanche water protector Eric Poemoceah -- Eric cried out in pain and told them they had broken his hip, but they laughed at him, and made him walk to an ambulance.
Now, an appeals court has returned the case to the district court, as Eric seeks justice. It has been more than seven years after the Standing Rock camps were brutally cleared by law enforcement on Feb. 22, 2017.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Wednesday that Eric “plausibly alleges a Fourth Amendment excessive force claim against Bismarck Officer Benjamin Swenson" and sent that claim back to the district court for further proceedings.
Eric states in his complaint:
At about 4:20 p.m., Poemoceah was “unarmed, facing a group of about thirty law enforcement officers clad in riot gear, with about fifteen feet between him and the group of officers.” Poemoceah spoke to the officers, “calmly, firmly, but not in a loud voice . . . in hopes of negotiating a peaceful process for . . . elders to leave the Water Protector encampment, which had been in place for several months.”
Poemoceah “advanced slightly (a couple of feet) while speaking,” but “he remained at a respectful distance and did not make any sudden movements.”
He said: I know you have a job to do and a family to provide for, but why do it with protecting oil? That’s all we’re trying to do sir, is protect—protect the water. I know—I know you’re looking at me and I know you just shook your head yes because you have a heart. You have a soul and so do we know—you look like a very prayerful man. Why don’t—why don’t you be honorable and set down your badge in front of 6,100 people.
When he stopped speaking, “dozens of riot-gear-clad officers” “charge[d] towards him and the two other Water Protectors who were standing near him.”
Poemoceah “instinctively began running.” He was not told he was under arrest nor was he told to stop. One of the officers was Benjamin Swenson, a Bismarck police officer deputized by the Morton County Sheriff’s office.
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| Eric violently tackled the officer. Screenshot of video by Censored News |
Swenson “quickly reached [Poemoceah] and violently tackled [him] from behind.” Swenson “thr[ew] his full weight on top of [Poemoceah, who was knocked] off the roadway onto the adjacent hill.”
Once tackled, Poemoceah “did not resist nor, through any words or actions, indicate any unwillingness to comply with” Swenson. Other officers, including Paul Laney, then-Sheriff of Cass County, North Dakota, and four who are identified as Defendant Does, “assist[ed]” Swenson.
Poemoceah alleges that “two of them pil[ed] on top of [him],” “one or more of the[m] further assaulted [him] with a fist and/or knee after [he] was already subdued,” and one “injured [Poemoceah’s] left foot and ankle.”
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| (In center right) "My hip, my hip, you broke my hip," Eric said as the officer piled on top of him. Video screenshot by Censored News. |
Poemoceah “cried out in pain,” said he “can’t walk,” and told the officers that he thought his hip was broken. He asked for an ambulance. The officers mocked him, accused him of “playing games,” and forced him to walk “at least two hundred feet” to the police van.
Officers transported him to the main camp, where an ambulance took him to a local hospital. Roughly two and a half hours later, Poemoceah arrived at the hospital where medical providers determined he had “minor contusions” but failed to diagnose Poemoceah’s “nondisplaced pelvic fracture.”
Poemoceah was then taken to the local detention center, where he was released on bond later that night. Poemoceah was charged with physical obstruction of a government function, a class A misdemeanor in North Dakota. See N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-08-01.
The charge was later dismissed. Poemoceah alleges he “suffered a pelvic fracture . . . injuries to his neck, ankle, and left wrist,” as well as “severe post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and major depressive disorder related to the incident.” He requires ongoing physical therapy and will continue to suffer the “debilitating effects of his pelvis injury for the rest of his life.”
Continue reading the court document:
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| Eric addressing police before being tackled. Photo courtesy Civil Liberties Defense Center “I was at Standing Rock to help protect our sacred water and stand up for our environment and basic human rights. I hoped to be a voice for everyone who couldn’t be there and to document all the events that transpired for the whole world to see. Unfortunately, we recognize that there are going to be future struggles to protect sacred land and water from the Black Snake. It is my hope that this lawsuit will help protect the brave people who will stand up and defend Mother Earth at the next conflict over the fate of our planet,” said Eric Poemoceah, Comanche Water Protector. |
Read more:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An appeals court has sent back part of a lawsuit brought by a protester of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, who alleged excessive force by law enforcement officers.
Eric Poemoceah, of Oklahoma, filed the federal court lawsuit in 2020 against Morton County, County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, then-Sheriff of Cass County Paul Laney and other officers, including unidentified ones. He sought unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
Poemoceah alleged that during a demonstration in February 2017, when a protest camp was being evacuated, Bismarck Police Officer Benjamin Swenson tackled him, causing a pelvic fracture. He also alleged other injuries from other officers, and that the officers disregarded his pelvic injury and retaliated against him for livestreaming the events.
The defendants sought to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor granted their motions to dismiss the case in December 2020. He said the officers were entitled to qualified immunity regarding use of force, and that Poemoceah didn’t sufficiently back up his claims.
Poemoceah appealed in 2021. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judge’s dismissal of most of Poemoceah’s claims. But the panel said he “plausibly alleges a Fourth Amendment excessive force claim against Swenson,” and sent that claim back for further proceedings.
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