Our Founding Partner, Tony Rupp, recently took the spotlight in The New York Times, shedding light on his legal battle against the Buffalo Police Department.
It all began in December 2016, when Mr. Rupp, leaving Chef’s Restaurant, witnessed a near-disaster involving a black SUV with its lights off and two women crossing the street. Unbeknownst to him, the driver was a Buffalo police officer. What ensued was a half-hour debate, resulting in Mr. Rupp being handed a ticket for violating the city’s noise ordinance.
Fast forward to January, and this legal showdown reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which ruled in Tony’s favor, allowing him to press on with his suit.
Mr. Rupp, who wrote a lengthy letter regarding police training to the commissioner following his incident, says he never would have filed his suit had it not been for a more severe incident involving the same officer about two months later, in February 2017. The officers’ actions resulted in the death of Wardel Davis III, a man who was tackled, punched, handcuffed, and placed on his stomach for several minutes, despite having asthma.
“The case could result in an important decision regarding how citizens can criticize public officials at a time of widespread re-evaluation of the lengths and limits of free speech,” says The New York Times.
This case is also the catalyst that inspired Tony Rupp to launch the Civil Rights practice group at Rupp Pfalzgraf. This group is made up of experienced litigators dedicated to upholding their clients’ constitutional rights when those rights have been violated.
Mr. Rupp is seeking only $1 in damages and legal fees
Click here to read the entire article in the New York Times.
