A pro-life college student who claims he was tackled and injured while protesting outside a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic is suing the local Planned Parenthood and a security guard.
Daniel Heenan, a Virginia resident who attends Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., is represented in the civil lawsuit by the Christian public-interest group American Center for Law and Justice.
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"It is simply unacceptable for citizens of the United States, who are on public property, to be tackled or knocked to the ground by security guards," said Jim Henderson, senior counsel in the ACLJ's Washington office.
Henderson said his client was serving as a sidewalk counselor last May when he was "attacked from behind and thrown to the ground on a public sidewalk for no other reason than seeking to offer his message of hope and help to women approaching the Planned Parenthood facility."
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The student, a Catholic, says he has participated in Saturday prayer vigils and sidewalk counseling outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on 16th Street N.W. in Washington for three years.
The incident occurred, according to the suit, after Heenan approached the clinic and crossed a painted black line on a sidewalk outside – a marking that applied only to a group of defendants in a federal lawsuit and not to Heenan.
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Heenan contends he was shoved forcefully to the ground and tackled by the security guard, Harry James, after crossing the line.
According to the suit, Heenan did nothing to provoke the assault, never said or indicated that he was going to enter the clinic and never expressed aggression or intimidation toward the security guard.
Heenan says the incident was witnessed by several officers of the Metropolitan Police Department who refused his request to press charges against the security guard. No police report was made.
The suit contends James and his employer, Planned Parenthood, committed battery against Heenan which resulted in both physical and emotional injury. Heenan is seeking a trial by jury and compensatory and punitive damages.
The suit also requests that the court protect the constitutional rights of Heenan and bar the defendants from any future physical contact with him.
