Millions of dollars will be paid out by the City of New York and the New York Police Department (NYPD) to protesters who were violently suppressed, detained, and arrested on June 4, 2020, at a George Floyd rally in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx.
Over 300 protesters were subjected to unfair treatment and excessive force on February 28, including “kettling,” according to the settlement agreement filed that day. Each protester will receive $21,500.
That amount will be the largest ever paid out in a class action lawsuit over mass arrests. The nearly $7 million settlement will require significant financial resources from the city.
New York City has agreed to pay $21,500 to all class action suit members and an additional $2,500 to those who have been given a desk appearance ticket, as stated in the court filing.
As a “service reward,” the two lawsuit plaintiffs will each receive an additional $21,500.
The lawsuit claims that police used pepper spray and batons to subdue and beat 320 demonstrators after they had been restrained with zip ties. The suit also names the City of New York, the NYPD, and several high-ranking officers as defendants.
The plaintiff’s attorneys urged the court to approve the settlement, arguing that it was fair and adequate.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said that officers had a difficult time at the June 4 protests because they were dealing with the pandemic while also attempting to facilitate peaceful protests in the midst of acts of violence and lawlessness like rioting, chaos, and mass destruction.
One protester, Henry Wood, said that while the settlement was a relief, it wouldn’t change what happened that day, and that the police violence was unjustified and unnecessary.
The protest began on May 25, 2020, as a result of outrage over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
The lawsuit states that NYC cops “arrested and charged the protestors without probable cause and subjected them to excessive force, as part of a planned police action involving some of the most senior members of the NYPD.”
The NYPD rethought and altered its approach to large-scale demonstrations after receiving widespread criticism for its treatment of the protesters.