Minneapolis settles to pay $50K each to 12 people injured by police during George Floyd protests
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: The city of Minneapolis will pay $50,000 each to 12 people harmed by police during protests that broke out after a White officer killed George Floyd by kneeling the 46-year-old Black man to the ground, according to court documents. A settlement reached on Wednesday, November 23, approved by a federal judge includes changes to how police conduct protests in Minneapolis, including a ban on the use of force and the use of chemical agents against nonviolent demonstrators.
Additionally, when Minneapolis police interact with demonstrators, their body cameras must be recording and unhindered, according to court filings, as per Daily Mail. Jordan Meyer, one of the case's plaintiffs, stated in a statement issued by the Minnesota branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, "This agreement is a big step towards keeping peaceful protesters safe from police violence. I hope other police departments across the country see this outcome and proactively adopt these same policies and standards."
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On May 25, 2020, after an arrest for possessing a fake $20 bill, Officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee over Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes eventually killing him. Hours later, in Minneapolis, protests and violent rioting broke out. Chauvin was later convicted of murder and entered a guilty plea to federal charges. Social media videos of the incident helped mobilize protests against racism and police violence across the country and in major cities around the world. According to the ACLU, the 12 plaintiffs experienced psychological trauma, bruising from less lethal weapons, and chronic breathing problems from tear gas.
On October 20, the Minneapolis City Council authorized the settlement, and six days later, Mayor Jacob Frey signed it, according to local media. As a result of the Defund the Police movement, crime in the city is reportedly still increasing uncontrollably. After Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd in May 2020, Minneapolis was reportedly the epicenter of those protests. When compared to this time last year, the city's overall crime rate as of late November is up 14%. Thefts of motor vehicles (48.4%), assaults (9.6%), and burglaries (2.0%) have all increased since 2021, Daily Mail reports. Additionally, according to CNN, 93 people have reportedly been shot in the city in the past year, falling just short of the number of fatal shootings in 1995, when the city was given the nickname "Murderapolis." As of now, it holds the 19th-best per-capita murder ranking out of 70 jurisdictions. Since 2016, when about 54% of the cases were resolved, the clearance rate for homicide cases has been declining.
George Floyd's inhumane murder at the age of 46, attracted global attention and inspired many protests against police brutality against the Black community and People of Color. It resulted in growing calls for measures to ensure race equality in the United States and beyond, which had a massive impact on the Black Lives Matter movement.