Netflix and celebrated director Ava DuVernay have been sued over their portrayal of the Reid interrogation technique in the Emmy-winning miniseries “When They See Us,” according to a new report.
The four-episode series directed by DuVernay, 47, tells the story of the Central Park Five, a group of young black men who were falsely charged with the rape and assault of a jogger in 1989.
Per Variety, citing court documents, John E. Reid and Associates — it developed the interrogation technique showcased in the series — claims that “When They See Us” sheds a negative light on the procedure and implies that it involves coercion.
“Defendants intended to incite an audience reaction against Reid for what occurred in the Central Park jogger case and for the coercive interrogation tactics that continue to be used today,” the suit reads. “Defendants published the statements in ‘When They See Us’ in an effort to cause a condemnation of the Reid technique.”
The lawsuit refers to a specific instance in which it’s alleged that the Reid technique was poorly dramatized. Per Variety, a district attorney’s office employee confronts a detective in the case, saying: “You squeezed statements out of them after 42 hours of questioning and coercing, without food, bathroom breaks, withholding parental supervision. The Reid technique has been universally rejected.”
The detective responds: “I don’t even know what the f—ing Reid technique is, OK? I know what I was taught. I know what I was asked to do and I did it.”
Reid and Associates also claims the program has caused harm to the company’s reputation, and the firm is seeking actual and punitive damages.
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Finally, the plaintiff asks for Netflix to stop distributing the show in its current form, and for a disgorgement of Netflix’s profits from the show.
A rep for Netflix and a lawyer for DuVernay had no comment when reached by Fox News.
