Five students and a teacher who claim they were victims of police using excessive force and were unlawfully arrested during a riot at Montwood High School in 2003 filed a civil lawsuit Thursday in federal court against the city of El Paso.

Former police chief Carlos Leon and about 18 of the more than 100 officers who responded to the riot are also named defendants in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks a court-ordered injunction, and a requirement that the city establish new training programs and policies and procedures regarding the proper use of force as well as police conduct at free-speech and assembly activities.

The plaintiffs also seek monetary damages for physical and psychological injuries allegedly suffered. The dollar amount would be determined by a jury.

Current Police Chief Richard Wiles could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Joe Wardy said he was not aware of the lawsuit so he declined to comment on it. He said he knows there was a riot at Montwood, although he was not familiar with all the facts of the incident.

"I stand behind the actions of our Police Department. I think we have a fine Police Department, and 99 times out of 100 they do the right thing," Wardy said.

Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project said Thursday, "The case seeks to help bring police in line with professional conduct. ... What happened at Montwood should have never happened."

Harrington commented outside the federal courthouse during an announcement to the news media about the lawsuit.

Harrington said police are to blame for the peaceful protest turning violent because they lacked training in how to handle civil disturbances. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid lawyers and El Paso lawyer Maria Hernandez also are representing the plaintiffs.

The riot occurred Jan. 29, 2003. Police officers, including dozens in full riot gear, descended on the East Side campus at 12000 Montwood after school officials called them to disperse a crowd of about 1,000 students, who had gathering outside the school that morning to protest a class-scheduling proposal.

A study initiated by Socorro Independent School District officials to look at the events of Jan. 29 concluded that students, teachers and police were to blame for the peaceful protest turning violent. The study found that some teachers encouraged the protest, that students violated school rules by leaving class and that some cursed and acted aggressively toward school officials and police officers. The study also found that most police officers acted professionally, though some appeared to lack training in how to handle public demonstrations.

Matthew Braxton, an English teacher at Montwood, said he was assaulted and unlawfully detained by police while checking on the welfare of students. Braxton, who does not blame the school district for what happened to him, said he thinks that because he is black he was the only teacher detained by police.

Frank Lopez, now 19, was a 17-year-old junior when the riot broke out. He said about five officers forced him to the ground after he told police they shouldn't have used force. He was detained for about 16 hours and charged with rioting, a Class B misdemeanor. The charge was later dropped, Lopez said.

"An apology would be nice. I want people to know that the police did do something wrong," Lopez said.