Woman claims shot with rubber bullet by Detroit PD faces uphill lawsuit due to qualified immunity

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A woman who attended a protest in late May in Detroit says she was hit in the head with a rubber bullet fired by a Detroit Police officer and plans to file a lawsuit - but it could be a very difficult one to win.

Nadia Rohr and her girlfriend wanted to join in on a Black Lives Matter protest on May 30 in Downtown Detroit. It was around midnight and she said she was peacefully demonstrating against police brutality.

"I was going, 'no justice, no peace, my hands were up, I'm in a crowd of people who were all yelling- 'I can't breathe', 'say his name'. It was not aggressive," she said.

That's when she said she was shot in the head by a Detroit police officer with a rubber bullet for no reason. A picture shows her graphic injuries.

"You can see what looks like my brain, and I'm pretty sure it is. You can see fatty tissue you can see my hair, it's disgusting and graphic," she said.

She spent more than two days in the hospital with a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain. She says she still has pain almost a month later.

Now she wants to sue the Detroit Police Department. 

Attorney Soloman Rander of 1-800-LAW-FIRM said it's possible to do that but is a challenge.

"You can sue the cops, but it's incredibly difficult," he said. "An officer can be convicted of a crime - of murder - and still not be on the hook in a lawsuit."

That's because of the legal concept of qualified immunity. It basically means you can't sue the king. The cops here are the king. 

Rander said he believes there's no question that police know that they can't be sued and that's why they rough people up.

Despite that, Radner is taking Nadia's case because he says the cops used excessive force without justification when they used rubber bullets.

"I want an answer from somebody so I can say, why did this happen, what was I doing so I never do it again," Rohr said.

Detroit Police have no comment on pending litigation.