A class action lawsuit pertaining to excessive use of police force during the 2020 George Floyd demonstrations has been settled, with NYC awarding battered protestors $13 million.
According to CNN, upwards of 1,380 protesters arrested by the New York City Police Department during the demonstrations will be eligible to receive $9,950 in individual compensation if a judge approves the settlement, making it the heftiest amount to be paid in a class-action settlement to a group of protesters.
Detailed in the lawsuit are claims that NYC police participated in "corralling protesters into spaces where they could not escape, beating protesters with batons and fists, throwing protesters to the ground, using pepper spray indiscriminately, and ultimately arresting many of the protesters without lawful justification and without fair warning." In a statement given by the deputy chief of staff for the city's law department, the settlement is in the "best interests of all parties." "The City and NYPD remain committed to ensuring the public is safe and people's right to peaceful expression is protected. The NYPD has improved numerous practices to address the challenges it faced at protests during the pandemic," he said.
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