The ACLU of Gotham has filed a class-action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 against the vigilante Batman, Gotham Police Department, and the City of Gotham for numerous violations of citizens’ constitutional rights. The civil suit alleges that the Batman, working in conjunction with Gotham PD, acted as a rogue cop to enforce the law and punish citizens for alleged wrongdoing. Many of these clients faced consequences for crimes for which they had not yet faced trial.
Below is a list of transcribed plaintiff testimonials:
“Yeah, I was involved, that’s what I pleaded months later. I was a wiseguy back then. I’m not talking to some jamook in bat ears, especially not while I was dangling off the balcony. So I told the guy, ‘take me to the station, let me get my lawyer, and we’ll talk this out like gentlemen.” He didn’t like that. Two broken femurs later, I’m out walking the streets on parole. I just wanted a lawyer.”
— Vincent Brambilla, 41
“I didn’t even know it was a crime. I worked down at the docks. I had no idea I was helping smuggle in the Scarecrow’s neurotoxins. It was just another shipment until Batman showed up. The DA actually dropped my charges eight months later. Which is a lot longer than it’ll take to get my dentures paid for and put in. It’s a shame Wayne Industries broke up the union, we used to have dental.”
— Jason Maloney, 44
“Man, I had a track scholarship to Metropolis U. I was finally getting out of Gotham. I made the mistake of wearing purple that night, my school colors—the same colors as the Vipers Batman was after. After he backed the batmobile off my leg. He threw a wad of cash at me and said I shouldn’t dress like a thug.”
— Terrance Reynolds, 19
“I stole. I’m saying it here today just like I told him when he caught me. Times are tough and I have a daughter. So yeah, I took the shoes. I didn’t have a weapon, it was a misdemeanor. I get a fractured orbital for providing for my daughter while billionaires like Bruce Wayne fly to space for fun.”
— Mike Williams, 32
“It took a while for us to find the bat-shaped listening device in our apartment. I found it while I was doing my dusting. We don’t live in the best neighborhood but the guy he was looking for lives next door. He didn’t have a warrant. To think of all the times he heard me and Chester being intimate. That pervert.”
— Beverly McFarland, 68
“I had weed. Weed. It’s like the guy’s from the reefer madness era. I was detained in the Batmobile for 7 hours till I made up the names of five ‘dealers.' After three I panicked and ran out of names to make up. ‘Big J' If you’re reading this, I’m really sorry man. Shit, I can’t go back to the neighborhood.”
— Anonymous, 21
“I make money as a clown on the side. Kids’ birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs, things like that. When I ran into the Bat sleuthing around an alley. I knew I shouldn’t have run. But I got scared and he… Well, they tell you not to run. I got a Batarang in the back. Then he shook me and asked me where ‘he' was and if I thought this was a game. I saw guys like these when I served. Unhinged. I think the guy has serious PTSD”
— Doug Whiteside, 51
If you’ve been detained, beaten, surveilled, stalked, or threatened by Batman contact the ACLU of Gotham’s client helpline at 555-411-1111.
Victoria Stantham
Staff Attorney—Civil Rights Litigation Division
ACLU of Gotham