Ava DuVernay sued for Netflix Docu-series, "When They See Us"

Ava DuVernay and her highly acclaimed docu-series, When They Us, is facing a lawsuit. The docu-series tells the story of five young men that were wrongfully incarcerated for a 1989 sexual assault case.

The lawsuit comes from John E. Reid and Associates, a company that was never mentioned throughout the entire series. The series was filed a complaint against the notion that the Reid Technique has been universally rejected, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Also, the company was not too fond of the comments made in correlation to the Reid Technique.

The Reid technique is an interrogation tactic used to force suspects to admit the truth. This technique is practiced throughout all law enforcement including the FBI, DEA, U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. military since 1974.

This tactic played a major role in the series as each main character would stretch the truth resulting in false accusations. In the last episode, the technique was pointed out in a conversation between Nancy Ryan (Manhattan assistant) and a New York City detective.

The dialogue spoke, “You squeezed statements out of them after 42 hours of questioning and coercing without food, bathroom breaks, and withholding parental supervision. The Reid technique has been universally rejected. That’s truth to you.”

As mentioned in the detailed 41-page lawsuit filed against DuVernay, “The program falsely represents that squeezing and coercing statements from juvenile subjects after long hours of questioning without food, bathroom breaks, or parental supervision is synonymous with the Reid Technique.”

DuVernay and Netflix have yet to make a comment.