22 Cases Benjamin Crump Has Taken On In 2022

22 Cases Benjamin Crump Has Taken On In 2022

He'll surely surpass this number before the year is out.

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Attorney Ben Crump reacts after former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter was sentenced to two years in prison, on Feb. 18, 2022 in Minneapolis. Potter was convicted in December of both first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist. Crump is a familiar presence during nearly every major civil rights case in the country.
Attorney Ben Crump reacts after former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter was sentenced to two years in prison, on Feb. 18, 2022 in Minneapolis. Potter was convicted in December of both first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist. Crump is a familiar presence during nearly every major civil rights case in the country.
Screenshot: Nicole Neri

The lead civil rights attorney of not only the past two years but the past decade is Benjamin Crump. He’s represented the families of victims all the way back to Genie McMeans Jr. in 2002, Trayvon Martin in 2012 and Michael Brown in 2014.

Most cops or companies escape criminal charges for their actions, yet they face federal responsibility for violating the Constitution, specifically, civil rights. That’s where Crump comes in.

Not every case Crump’s firm has taken deals with police brutality, showing there are more ways our rights our violated beyond the barrel of a cop’s gun. Though most of his cases are aiding Black families, he’s represented other groups in their fight for justice.

In 2022 alone, Crump’s office has been picking up cases like Pokémon cards, representing over 20 families. Take a look who he’s fighting for.

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Jamal Sutherland

Jamal Sutherland

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Screenshot: ABC 4 News (Fair Use)

Sutherland died at the Al Cannon Detention Center in January of 2021 when he as forcibly removed from his cell to be taken to a bond hearing on an assault charge, reports say.

After the South Carolina Attorney General decided not to investigate Sutherland’s death nor pursue criminal charges against the corrections officers, Sutherland’s family hired Benjamin Crump’s firm to help them fight for justice, per WIS 10 News.

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James Lowrey

James Lowrey

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Screenshot: Click Orlando (Fair Use)

Lowrey, 40, was shot and killed by Titusville police officers who were responding to a domestic dispute. Ben Crump threatened to sue the city because they wouldn’t release public records related to the incident including the 911 call or police report, per Florida Today.

Crump claimed the shooting may have been a result of a mistaken identity and that Lowrey wasn’t the person they were looking for.

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Jason Walker

Jason Walker

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Screenshot: CBS 17 (Fair Use)

Walker was shot and killed by an off-duty deputy in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Reports say he was in an agitated state, waving his hands and yelling. Then, he jumped on the hood of the deputy’s truck, ripped off one of the windshield wipers and began smashing the glass of the car with it.

Walker was shot four times by the deputy. Crump stood against the lack of charges against the officer, arguing the state’s laws equate unnecessary deadly force to self-defense, per CBS 17.

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Caleb Walker

Caleb Walker

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Screenshot: Fox 35 Orlando (Fair Use)

Walker, diagnosed with autism and behavioral issues, was sent to Oconee Group Home for help in 2020, per Click Orlando. Per the investigation, Walker had a record of acting aggressively toward staff members. One morning, two staff members restrained Walker, holding him down for up to 20 minutes. His autopsy says his cause of death was excited delirium with restraint and was ruled a homicide.

Crump represented Walker’s family in filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the care facility and Attain, Inc.

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Amir Locke

Amir Locke

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Screenshot: Fox 9 KMSP (Fair Use)

Locke was sleeping on a couch in a Minneapolis apartment when a raid of SWAT officers issued a no-knock warrant, reports say. Locke pulled the blanket from over himself and after one officer noticed his (legal) firearm resting on the sofa, Locke was shot and killed within seconds.

Per Business Insider, Crump filed a wrongful death suit against the Minneapolis Police Department arguing the officers used excessive force.

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Walter Hutchins

Walter Hutchins

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Screenshot: Click2Houston (Fair Use)

Hutchins was shot and killed by a group of men who identified as “bounty hunters” who were allegedly attempting to execute a warrant, reports say. They targeted Hutchins while he was sitting in his car. They claim he shot at them first, though the fire they returned took his life.

Per Click2Houston, Crump called on the Houston Police Department to conduct a full investigation and demanded the plain clothes officers be held accountable.

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Z-Kye Husain

Z-Kye Husain

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Screenshot: NJ Spotlight News (Fair Use)

Husain, 14, was recorded being violently arrested at Bridgewater Mall after allegedly fighting a white teen, reports say. The video caused outrage all over social media as people called out the officers for racial bias because they did not detain the white teenager.

Per ABC 6 News, Crump and the National Action Network called for an investigation and police accountability.

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April Curley

April Curley

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Screenshot: LinkedIn (Fair Use)

Curley, a former diversity recruiter at Google, sued the company for racial and systemic discrimination along with a number of former employees, reports say. They allege Black employees were told they didn’t fit the company’s culture and thrown into “dead-end” jobs. Crump represented her in the class action lawsuit, per WUSA 9 News.

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Patrick Lyoya

Patrick Lyoya

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Screenshot: Fox 2 Detroit (Fair Use)

When Lyoya was pulled over by a Grand Rapids police officer, the traffic stop turned into a heated wrestling match, reports say. The officer, Christopher Schurr, claims he tried to user his Taser but Lyoya grabbed it. He then resorted to deadly force, shooting him in the back of the head.

Ben Crump represented the family in demanding the release of the video footage from the incident to the public and criminal charges against Schurr, per Fox 2 Detroit.

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Ebony Crockett

Ebony Crockett

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Screenshot: WJTV (Fair Use)

Crockett was fatally shot at an Amazon warehouse in Horn Lake, Mississippi in June, per Fox 13 Memphis. Crockett had a restraining order against the man who shot her, the report says. Crump’s office represented the family. Crump questioned how the shooter was able to enter the building and accused the facility of not having controlled access or security.

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Amazon Warehouse Collapse

Amazon Warehouse Collapse

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Screenshot: 25 News Now (Fair Use)

At another Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, the building had collapsed during a tornado, per a report from 25 News Now. Crump along with attorneys Bob Hilliard, Patrick King and William Miller sued on behalf of the Amazon workers who survived the incident and one who victim who died.

They allege Amazon did not allow workers to leave the building until after the storm passed and threatened to fire them if they did leave.

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Buffalo Shooting Victims

Buffalo Shooting Victims

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Screenshot: CNN (Fair Use)

The family of Ruth Whitfield, an 82-year-old woman killed at Tops supermarket by white supremacist Payton Gendron, hired Ben Crump to represent them in a potential lawsuit, per The Guardian. Crump called on the police to investigate race replacement theory played into Gendron’s plot for the racially motivated attack,

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Gwendolyn Osborne

Gwendolyn Osborne

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Screenshot: ABC7 Chicago (Fair Use)

Osborne was found dead in a senior living Roger Park’s James Sneider Apartments after a heat wave left her and other residents in sweltering temperature conditions, per ABC 7 Chicago. The report says the building operators are required to keep the heat on until June 1. Osborne’s son, Ken Rye, retained Crump to represent his mother in a lawsuit.

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Jalen Randle

Jalen Randle

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Screenshot: KHOU 11 (Fair Use)

Randle, 29, was wanted on three warrants when cops pursued him, per KHOU 11. After a car chase, the vehicle finally stopped and Randle exited the vehicle upon command. However, he was shot within seconds.

Ben Crump represented the family in confirming what his cause of death was. The official autopsy claimed he was shot in front of the neck but the independent autopsy showed he’d been shot in the back of the neck. Crump’s office also argued Randle wasn’t given enough time to comply with the officer’s commands before being shot.

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Paul Rusesabagina

Paul Rusesabagina

 Paul Rusesabagina, whose story inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda”, wears a pink prison uniform as he arrives for a bail hearing at a court in the capital Kigali, Rwanda on Sept. 25, 2020. Rights activists and others are urging Rwandan authorities to free Rusesabagina, saying his health is failing after an appeals court upheld his 25-year jail term for terror offenses. Some activists who spoke during an online event Wednesday, April 13, 2022 said the U.S. could do more to free the 67-year-old recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Paul Rusesabagina, whose story inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda”, wears a pink prison uniform as he arrives for a bail hearing at a court in the capital Kigali, Rwanda on Sept. 25, 2020. Rights activists and others are urging Rwandan authorities to free Rusesabagina, saying his health is failing after an appeals court upheld his 25-year jail term for terror offenses. Some activists who spoke during an online event Wednesday, April 13, 2022 said the U.S. could do more to free the 67-year-old recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Photo: Muhizi Olivier (AP)

The Rwandan politician, also known as the hero of the film Hotel Rwanda, had saved over 1,200 people from Rwandan genocide. However, upon protesting the repressive rule of president Paul Kagame, he was convicted of treason and accused of belonging to a terrorist organization, per The New York Times.

Ben Crump took to his defense after he received a 20+ year sentence, per San Antonio Express-News.

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MacLaren Children’s Center

MacLaren Children’s Center

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Screenshot: ABC 7 News (Fair Use)

Crump filed a lawsuit on behalf of 31 minors, who allegedly suffered sexual abuse in MacLaren Hall, per the firm’s website. The statement says the facility was overcrowded and understaffed and claims staff members overmedicated, taunted and restrained the children. The staff was also accused of being poorly trained and were not given thorough background checks.

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Richard Cox

Richard Cox

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Screenshot: New Haven Police Department (Fair Use)

Cox was left paralyzed from neck down after being injured in the back of a police vehicle, per Connecticut Public. The officers ignored his injuries, under the impression he was intoxicated.

Crump represented Cox in filing a $100 million federal civil lawsuit against the five officers involved. Crump also argued racial bias had to do with how Cox was treated.

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Andrew Tekle Sundberg

Andrew Tekle Sundberg

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Screenshot: Change.org

Sundberg was shot by a Minneapolis sniper after an hours-long standoff with the police. Per CBS’ report, Sundberg fired rounds into a neighbor’s apartment when the resident called 911 to report bullets coming through her wall. When officers responded, they tried to get him to surrender. It’s unclear what forced the sniper to shoot.

Crump along with attorney Jeff Storm represented Sundberg’s family and argued the department moved too slow to release information to the family about the incident.

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Autrey Davis

Autrey Davis

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Screenshot: ABC 13 News (Fair Use)

A car crash involving a Harris County deputy left Autrey Davis dead and her 3-year-old son in critical condition. According to ABC 13 News, the deputy was pursuing a criminal suspect but it was not specified they were looking for Davis.

Crump took on the case representing the family and working with attorney Andy Rubenstein.

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Valentina Orellana-Peralta

Valentina Orellana-Peralta

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Photo: GoFundMe (Fair Use)

Orellana-Peralta, 14, was shot and killed while in a dressing room trying on her quinceañera dress, reported CNN. The officers were after a violent suspect. One officer fired toward the suspect but one bullet struck the teen in the chest.

Crump represented the family in filing a lawsuit against the LAPD officer who shot her, per the LA Times.

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Michael Ortiz

Michael Ortiz

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Screenshot: Local 10 (Fair Use)

Ortiz had called the police for help after experiencing suicidal thoughts, per Business Insider. Officers arrived to Ortiz’s apartment building to find him naked and agitated on the balcony. Police say there was a struggle when one police officer mistook his gun for a Taser and shot Ortiz in the back. He was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Crump called on the police department to release the full footage of the incident, believing the shooting was no accident.

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Erik Cantu

Erik Cantu

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Screenshot: NBC News (Fair Use)

Cantu, 17, was shot by a San Antonio police officer in a McDonald’s parking lot, according to NBC News. Per the body camera footage, Cantu was parked when an officer yanked open his door and ordered him to get out. Cantu allegedly put the car in reverse and tried to back up, causing the door to hit the officer. The cop opened fire on Cantu and is currently on life support.

Crump represented the family along with Paul Grinke and claimed Cantu was racially profiled.

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