Attorneys for Melina Abdullah, professor, activist, radio host, and co-founder of the L.A. chapter of Black Lives Matter, are seeking background records of two members of the LAPD in connection with a 2020 swatting incident involving a deliberate 911 call that reported a false hostage situation.
The August 12, 2020, call brought armed police officers to Abdullah's Mid-City
residence, where she was home with her kids at the time and had a shotgun pointed at her.
The 2020 SWAT-ing incident occurred in the same summer as protests were held across the nation over the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In 2021, Abdullah, a vocal critic of the police and police abuses, filed a lawsuit with Los Angeles Superior Court against the city over the LAPD's conduct.
In court papers filed Tuesday, Abdullah's lawyers are seeking information regarding "complaints of excessive force, bias against certain racial or ethnic groups, and dishonesty, including false testimony and fabrication of evidence'' against LAPD Sgt. James Mankey and Officer Jose Perez.
"The discovery sought is relevant to the incident that led to (Abdullah) being forced out of her home at gunpoint and being forced to endure ongoing terror while a shotgun was pointed at her by members of a police department that she is widely known for criticizing,'' the activist's lawyers argue in their court papers.
"The requested materials, pertaining to the officer who pointed the shotgun at Plaintiff and the sergeant who ordered to have plaintiff ordered out of her home, are relevant to establishing plaintiff's claims.''
Abdullah's attorneys also want to know the identities of LAPD members "who possessed the number to plaintiff's personal cell phone and/or plaintiff's personal home landline'' on the day police arrived, as well as the department policies in place at the time for contacting the occupants of a home when an emergency is reported.
A hearing on Abdullah's motion is scheduled for July 10.
City News Service contributed to this report.
