PHILADELPHIA – Two individuals who participated in an “Environmental Justice Day” march say they were assaulted on that occasion by Chester government officials, including the mayor and two members of borough council.
Tajah Jennings of Chester and Mike Ewall of Philadelphia filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 16 versus the City of Chester, its Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland and its Councilwomen Portia West and Elizabeth Williams.
“On April 23, 2022, Chester residents and other activists met at Chester City Hall to participate in the second annual ‘Environmental Justice Day’ march. The protest, held the day after ‘Earth Day,’ was organized to protest the Covanta Delaware Valley trash incinerator, which is Chester City’s largest industrial air polluter and largest environmental violator. Covanta owns the trash incinerator in Chester and, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is one of the largest polluters of its kind in the country,” the suit says.
“The protestors, including citizens of Chester, such as plaintiff and others, planned to march down Pennsylvania Route 291 from Chester City Hall to the incinerator. Protestors utilized the private parking spaces located at the Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS) with the express permission from the Executive Director of DCHS. When protestors arrived at City Hall on the morning of April 23, they were prevented from using the free parking lot located at City Hall by wooden horses, yellow police tape and two private security officers guarding the entrance to the lot. Parking authority vehicles and employees were parked at City Hall prior to protestors arriving on the morning of April 23.”
The suit adds Williams gave the security officers instructions to not allow protestors to park in the parking lot at City Hall, and Kirkland, West and Williams gave instructions to parking authority officers to ticket the vehicles of individuals who participated in the protest, solely due to their participation.
The size and sound of the march attracted the attention of people along the route to ask questions about the cause, who were then given information to inform on the issue, the suit continues.
“Jennings lives along the route of the march and came outside to get information about the march and the issues surrounding it. Jennings was speaking with people involved in the march when she, Ewall and others were confronted by defendants Kirkland, West, Williams and others who had been driving behind the group of protestors in a black pickup truck. While seated in the drivers’ seat of the truck, defendant Kirkland used a loudspeaker to threaten Ewall and another protestor,” the suit states.
“After threatening Ewall, Kirkland exited the truck and confronted Ewall. Jennings stepped in between Ewall and Kirkland to de-escalate the situation. Kirkland berated Ewall even as Jennings stood in between the two men. Ewall was holding his cell phone in his hands as if he was recording Kirkland berating him. Kirkland slapped Ewall’s hand to make him drop the phone and prevent him from recording the incident. After having his hand hit by Kirkland, Ewall’s phone flew from his hand and struck Jennings in the face, causing injury.”
The suit accuses Chester officials of having taken retaliatory action, including issuing citations, against individuals exercising their First Amendment rights, and the quelling of the expression of those same rights by those same individuals.
For counts of retaliation against free expression and deprivation of rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, plus state law claims of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that defendants violated plaintiffs’ civil rights, compensatory damages in excess of $75,000, pre-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, punitive damages against the individual defendants in their individual capacities; and such other legal and equitable relief as the Court deems just and proper.
The plaintiffs are represented by Riley H. Ross III, Thomas O. Fitzpatrick and Kevin V. Mincey of Mincey Fitzpatrick Ross, in Philadelphia.
The defendants have not yet secured legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 2:22-cv-02372
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com