Two New York state lawmakers are taking legal action against the New York Police Department one year after officers allegedly pepper-sprayed them and slammed bicycles into them at a Black Lives Matter protest last May. The joint lawsuit from State Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblywoman Diana Richardson was first reported by The New York Times. The lawmakers, who are both Black, took part in a protest outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 29, 2020, four days after the murder of George Floyd. They allege that they were both blasted in the face with pepper-spray, and that Myrie was cuffed with zip ties while he was screaming in pain. Richardson alleges an officer hit her with a bike in the her abdomen and pelvis, and Myrie says he was hit in his legs. The suit accuses police of violating the lawmakers’ free-speech rights, assaulting them, and illegally detaining Myrie. They wrote that the incident was a “painful and humiliating reminder that following the rules and complying with police orders does not protect Black Americans from police brutality.” The NYPD didn’t comment on the legal action.