The city of Seattle reached an agreement with a group of former Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters on Wednesday, settling an excessive force lawsuit brought against the city’s police department during the George Floyd riots in 2020. Per the out-of-court settlement announced by both parties’ attorneys, more than 50 plaintiffs will receive a total of $10 million to compensate for injuries sustained from alleged police brutality while marching with BLM.
According to a press release from the city government, this settlement—in which Seattle admits no wrongdoing—is the best option for all parties involved.
“This decision was the best financial decision for the City considering risk, cost, and insurance,” wrote city attorney Ann Davison. “The case has been a significant drain on the time and resources of the City and would have continued to be so through an estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May.”
Davison went on: “This settlement resolves the majority of the remaining claims arising out of the 2020 demonstration period and is a big step toward allowing the City to focus on the important work of today, while moving forward from events four years ago.”
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The complaint, first filed against the city in September 2020, reportedly involved hundreds of interactions between BLM protesters and members of the Seattle Police Department, as well as over a million documents, 10,000 hours of video, and hundreds of witness testimonies.
According to the plaintiffs, the department’s response to the riots that broke out in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May 2020 were unnecessarily violent and infringed on protesters’ right to free speech.
Attorneys cited multiple examples of protesters sustaining serious injuries at the hands of police, including one woman who had a heart attack after being hit by a rubber gas grenade and a disabled veteran who was “gassed and tackled” when his cane kept him from retreating fast enough. Other protesters reportedly suffered broken bones, concussions, hearing loss, cuts and bruises, and “emotional damage” at the hands of the SPD.
However, the protesters were not the only ones harmed during Seattle’s “summer of love.”
In February 2023, the city also settled a $3.6 million lawsuit with business owners and city residents who had their property damaged, looted, burned, or destroyed by mobs of protesters. Seattle was also the site of the infamous Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), a six-block area of the city taken over by BLM and Antifa activists who ousted local police and held residents hostage for nearly a month.
Related: BLM Garden in CHAZ Park Bulldozed Over Crime, “Significant Rodent Problem”
Prior to the settlement, Seattle Judge Sandra Widlan rejected the city’s defense that protesters had “assumed the risk” by participating in the riots, affirming that the city should be held liable.
After the agreement was announced, Karen Koehler, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declared that “Historians should review what we collected and write the true story of the shameful behavior of our City against the Peaceful Protesters.”
She also criticized the city’s willingness to “violate the First Amendment” and said that the payment should have been accompanied by an apology.
“They should have said, ‘We’re sorry that we were punks and brutalized peaceful protesters.’”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X (Twitter) and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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