SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A woman suing San Francisco alleges that firefighters injected her with a sedative against her will, and at a police officer's urging, following an abortion rights protest during an NBA Finals game in June.
McKnight filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city this week, demanding a jury trial and seeking punitive damages. The suit alleged that the San Francisco police and fire departments violated her Fourth and 14th Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution when she received the sedative, even though the complaint said she wasn't showing signs of a medical emergency nor acting dangerously.
A firefighter allegedly injected her with the sedative in her shoulder during the Golden State Warriors' June 13 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Chase Center. McKnight and her friend, Amanda Piasecki, walked toward the court with abortion rights signs, and laid down in civil disobedience, refusing to leave.
Her protest occurred fewer than two weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision establishing constitutional protections for abortion, in a 5-4 ruling.
Chase Center security drags Kareim McKnight and Amanda Piasecki as the pair protests for abortion rights during a Golden State Warriors game on June 13, 2022.
McKnight said she was hogtied and dragged to another part of the arena, when a San Francisco police sergeant threatened to have her sedated and directed city firefighters to do so.
"One of the firefighters came with a needle towards me, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing," McKnight said in a press conference on Wednesday, alleging that she was injected against her will.
Officials in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, police and fire departments told KCBS Radio that they couldn't comment on pending litigation.
McKnight said firefighters didn't ask if she was allergic to the sedative nor for any preexisting conditions, with "no concern about what would happen to me afterwards." She then began livestreaming on Instagram after officials returned her phone, and she could be heard starting to slur her words.
Kareim McKnight records an Instagram video on June 13, 2022, after a San Francisco firefighter allegedly injected her with a sedative.
Civil rights attorney John Burris, who is representing McKnight, said he has never seen a case like this.
"The question, really, is what is the criteria for giving a sedative to a person who was protesting?" Burris asked, arguing that injection without permission constituted an illegal seizure under the Fourth Amendment and violated McKnight's civil rights.
The attorney said McKnight had not consumed alcohol nor had she taken drugs, and that the police and fire personnel simply "didn't like the fact that she continued to protest, and they wanted to shut her up."
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