Indianapolis Police Officer Suing NFL For Defamation Over Social Justice Campaign

[mountaineer]

Indianapolis Police Officer Suing NFL For Defamation Over Social Justice Campaign
June 15, 2021
Outkick
by Clint Lamb

The NFL has been pushing the “Inspire Change” campaign for some time now, which is supposed to highlight the stories of people who have been shot and killed by police across the country. That campaign includes Dreasjon Reed, who was shot by Indianapolis police officer De’Joure Mercer last year.

Now Mercer is hitting the NFL with a defamation lawsuit, saying the “Say Their Stories” video from the league has caused him to suffer “tortious injury” in the city of Indianapolis. Here is a snippet from that lawsuit:

    The video gives rise to the inference, implication, and imputation that Mercer committed occupational misconduct and even criminal acts during the May 6 Encounter with Reed, similar to that which were inflicted upon George Floyd. This inference, implication, and imputation is false because Mercer committed no such acts. Similarly, the Video accuses Mercer of committing acts amounting to “social injustice,” which is unequivocally and demonstrably false.

The lawsuit argues that the state’s police investigation into the matter proved Mercer acted within IMPD’s use of force policies. Back in November of 2020, a grand jury ruled there wasn’t sufficient evidence to indict Mercer, and that he did not violate state law in his handling of the incident. ...

More.

Good.

[mountaineer]

Cop Sues NFL For Defamation Over Portrayal Of Justified Shooting Of Dreasjon Reed
Holly Matkin
1 hour ago   

Indianapolis, IN – The Indianapolis police officer who was cleared of any wrongdoing in the officer-involved shooting death of 21-year-old Dreasjon Reed has filed a lawsuit against the National Football League (NFL) for defamation due to the “Inspire Change” campaign they ran painting Reed as a victim of police violence.

Protesters had already been demanding that Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Officer De’Joure Mercer be sent to prison for murder for returning fire after Reed shot at him on May 6, 2020, The Indianapolis Star reported at the time. ...

According to ISP Lieutenant Jeffrey Hearon, Reed had stolen the firearm from a Texas pawn shop.

But despite Reed’s alleged history of carrying out drive-by shootings with a stolen gun and attempting to murder a police officer, the NFL chose to paint him as a victim and showcased his name and photo as part of their helmet decal “Inspire Change” program. ...

Police Tribune

The police officer happens to be black, which may be the only reason the NFL didn't add a "white supremacist" allegation to its campaign.