A federal appeals court has affirmed a decision granting summary judgment to Minneapolis and a police officer in a lawsuit stemming from a protest injury that occurred days after George Floyd’s death, concluding that no reasonable jury could find the officer intended to strike the plaintiff with a projectile.
In an opinion filed earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the dismissal of federal claims brought by Ewan Leask, who was struck in the head by a 40mm foam projectile while observing protests near the Minneapolis Third Precinct Police Department headquarters.
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The court also affirmed the district court’s decision to decline jurisdiction over remaining state-law claims, dismissing them without prejudice.
According to the ruling, the incident occurred two days after Floyd’s death, when protests escalated near the Third Precinct…