The city of Cleveland has reached a $540,000 settlement with 12 individuals who were arrested as they were peacefully protesting in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in 2020, an attorney representing the plaintiffs said.
According to The Associated Press, some of the plaintiffs also sustained injuries during the May 30, 2020, protests that happened in the city after Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
The money will be equally split between the 12 individuals. One of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, Sarah Gelsomino, said the city also agreed to wipe the charges that were brought against the protesters.
Gelsomino also stated that though there has been training and implementation of policies to ensure officers learn about First Amendment expression, the city has constantly ignored the expression.
The civil rights attorney added the city’s police “were unprepared, they were untrained, they were unsupervised, and they didn’t like the message on May 30, and they acted out.”
Other cities in the U.S. have also had to similarly reach settlements with individuals who sustained injuries while partaking in protests against racism. In May, the Minneapolis City Council agreed to pay $1.2 million to two civilians who got injured during the 2020 George Floyd protests, Face2Face Africa reported. At the time of the report, the city had agreed to pay $5.4 million as settlements for civil rights lawsuits linked to injuries the police caused in May 2020.
In December, Columbus also reached a $5.75 million settlement with 12 people who sustained injuries when they were partaking in a similar protest.
