Via Huffington Post:
PORTLAND, Ore. — A photograph of an Occupy Portland demonstrator blasted with pepper spray as she opened her mouth to shout at a police officer became a defining image of the monthlong encampment.
Now, the woman in the photograph is in court to seek $155,000 in damages from the city of Portland, the officer who sprayed her and another she said put a baton to her throat.
Jury selection in a lawsuit filed by Elizabeth Evon Nichols began Tuesday. The trial will address whether Sgt. Jeffrey McDaniel’s use of pepper spray was within bureau policy, and whether the officers’ actions were reasonable.
The officers’ defense team responded to the suit by saying Nichols was menacing the officers, and they reacted appropriately.
Nichols “actively, physically resisted lawful police instructions to move off of the sidewalk,” the attorneys wrote in a motion. They said Nichols “aggressively moved as if to attack” the officers, whose actions were reasonable under the circumstances.
Of course, video shows a little more background to the incident, indicating protesters were pushing police and even punching a police horse: