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NAACP Suit Alleges El Cajon Police Violated Protesters' Freedom Of Speech

A police officer blocks the on-ramp to a freeway during a protest in El Cajon, Sept. 28, 2016.
Associated Press
A police officer blocks the on-ramp to a freeway during a protest in El Cajon, Sept. 28, 2016.

Lawyers for the San Diego NAACP say they'll appear in federal court Wednesday. They have filed a lawsuit accusing county deputies and El Cajon police of unlawfully dispersing protests in response to the police killing of Alfred Olango.

Olango, who was unarmed and black, was shot to death by El Cajon police on Sept. 27. Several protests followed the shooting, and on two occasions, police declared protests an "unlawful assembly."

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Plaintiffs argue the police violated their right to freedom of expression. They are calling for a restraining order against the police and $1 million in damages.

The El Cajon police say they have allowed many protests; it is only when those protests turn violent or present the danger of imminent violence that they have ordered protestors to leave.

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