US cities to pay record $80m to people injured in 2020 racial justice protests - The Guardian
Cities across the US have agreed to pay out a total of more than $80m in settlements to protesters injured by police during 2020 racial justice protests – a figure experts believe is unprecedented and will rise further as many lawsuits are still playing out.
The brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers on 25 May 2020 sparked the largest nationwide demonstrations since the civil rights era, as upwards of 26 million people gathered to protest racism and police brutality.
But, three years later, at least 19 US cities will pay more than $80m total to protesters who sustained various injuries as a result of law enforcement action, ranging from being teargassed to being shot with projectiles, and have filed dozens of civil lawsuits.
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Carol Sobel, a civil rights attorney in southern California, said that ongoing litigation in the US, which can take years to resolve, is expected to further boost the national payout total.
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It is unclear exactly how many people were injured by police while participating in protests that erupted after video emerged of a white police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck during an attempted arrest, while Floyd repeatedly gasped that he couldn’t breathe.
Demonstrations spread across the country and then internationally, prompting a fresh reckoning in public life about systemic racism and the disproportionate killing of Black Americans by the police. Cities large and small have since paid out millions for injuries as heavily militarized police used rubber bullets, teargas and other weapons, and methods such as kettling, to corral and subdue or deter protesters.
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