A woman has filed a lawsuit after allegedly being pepper sprayed during a protest in Des Moines on May 30, according to KCCI Des Moines.
Essence Welch is the plaintiff in the case and claims she suffered “severe pain and suffering” after her face and body were exposed to pepper spray according to the lawsuit, KCCI reported.
Welch has listed an unnamed police officer, the City of Des Moines and its police chief, Dana Wingate, as defendants in the incident.
According to the lawsuit, Welch was with a group of protesters at the corner of Cherry Street and Sixth Avenue in Des Moines, KCCI reported. The protest was one of many taking place in the wake of George Floyd’s death while he was in police custody in Minneapolis. The recording of the incident has sparked unrest throughout the nation. An unnamed officer was alleged to have stepped out from a group of officers and sprayed her with pepper spray. Welch claims she was deprived of her constitutional rights in the lawsuit.
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