United Farm Workers Vice President Dolores Huerta, 58 years old, is beaten by San Francisco Police, in front of the St. Francis Hotel in Union Square during a peaceful and lawful protest of the policies/platform of then candidate George H. W. Bush, who was holding a fundraiser in the hotel.
The baton-beating caused significant internal injuries to her torso, resulting in broken ribs and the loss of her spleen in emergency surgery. The beating was caught on videotape and broadcasted on television news. Later, Huerta won a large judgment against the SFPD and the City of San Francisco for the attack, the proceeds of which she used for the benefit of farm workers. As a result of this assault and the suit, the SFPD was pressured to change its crowd control policies and its process of officer discipline. Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama on May 29, 2012. More
