Appeals court rules in favor of homeless woman in arrest, destruction of property

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Deanna Thomas, a 56-year-old homeless woman who was as handcuffed, violently thrown on the ground and kneeled on by police officers in Kenner, Louisiana.

Thomas was arrested by the East Jefferson Levee District Police Department for residing on a levee in Kenner, according to a news release by the Justice Lab Initiative. The officers also seized and destroyed Thomas’s property, including her birth certificate, and irreplaceable personal effects.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana previously ruled in favor of the defendants, agreeing that, because "Thomas could not show an injury resulting from her arrest sufficient to sustain her excessive force claim, she failed to show a violation of her constitutional rights," the release said.

According to court documents, the incident occurred in 2020 when the two officers approached Thomas, explaining that she was unlawfully occupying a public space, and told her to leave.

Thomas did not immediately comply, so the officers arrested her. Furthermore, the documents state, after the arrest, Thomas sued the officers for violating the Fourth Amendment by using excessive force and unlawfully seizing her property.

The defendants argued that because Thomas could neither show an injury resulting from her arrest sufficient to sustain her excessive force claim, nor that the destruction of her property as an unhoused person violated clearly established law, she failed to show a violation of her constitutional rights. The district court agreed, and upheld the decision that the officers were entitled to immunity. Therefore, the court dismissed her lawsuit.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the Cardozo School of Law Civil Rights Clinic filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on behalf of Thomas. According to a news release, Thomas argued that she was required to provide more than her own sworn testimony to establish proof of her injuries. Further, she argued that with respect to her property claim, the defendant’s own testimony was that he ordered it to be destroyed.

The Fifth Circuit Court decided to reversed the dismissal of Thomas’s lawsuit as to her excessive force claim. In its decision, the court stated Thomas did produce evidence to show that officers “used excessive force, in violation of clearly established law, by throwing her to the ground while she was restrained and subdued.”

“This win is a huge vindication for Ms. Thomas and everyone else who has experienced houselessness,” said Nora Ahmed, ACLU of Louisiana legal director. “Everyone, including police officers, should be held accountable for centering humanity and compassion in their work, especially as it concerns the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Thomas v. Tewis marks the first Fifth Circuit victory this year for the ACLU of Louisiana’s Justice Lab Initiative, which seeks to challenge racially discriminatory policing practices and combat police violence against people of color through intensive litigation.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Homeless woman handcuffed, violently thrown on the ground wins appeal