Washington Post: The city of Minneapolis will pay a record $27 million to the family of George Floyd to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit related to his death last year in police custody, a deal that could also have an impact on the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in his killing.
The payout, one of the largest of its kind involving police misconduct, was approved Friday in an unanimous vote by the Minneapolis City Council in a last-minute addition to the agenda of the panel’s regular meeting. The settlement is the highest ever paid by the city, eclipsing the $20 million paid in 2019 to the family of Justine Damond, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2017.
George Perry Floyd Jr. was an African American man killed during an arrest after a store clerk alleged he had passed a counterfeit $20 bill in Minneapolis. Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd’s neck for a period initially reported to be 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
Floyd’s family and their legal team welcomed the settlement, saying the record amount was vindication for Floyd and the Black Americans who took to the nation’s streets demanding social justice in the aftermath of the 46-year-old’s death after he was pinned beneath the knee of a White police officer.
“This historic agreement — the largest pretrial settlement in a police civil rights wrongful death case in U.S. history — makes a statement that George Floyd deserved better than what we witnessed on May 25, 2020,” attorney Ben Crump said at a news conference with members of Floyd’s family and city officials. “That George Floyd’s life matters, and by extension, Black lives matter.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), standing with Floyd’s family and legal team during the news conference, said the city would go beyond the monetary settlement to implement major policy changes in the pursuit of racial justice.
“Our Black community has endured deep and compounding trauma over this last year, none perhaps more acutely than George Floyd’s family standing with me right now,” he said, adding: “Amid unprecedented pain, we now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to truly effectuate change.”
Floyd’s family said that while they appreciated the city for agreeing to the settlement, the money could not make up for the loss of their loved one.
“If I could get him back, I will give all of this back,” said his brother, Philonise Floyd.
“Today is a huge step in the healing process,” Floyd’s nephew Brandon Williams said. “Hopefully it’s a healing in the way that policing is carried on.”
Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender offered her condolences to Floyd’s family after the vote.
“No amount of money can ever address the intense pain or trauma caused by this death to George Floyd’s family or to the people of our city,” she said. “Minneapolis has been fundamentally changed by this time of racial reckoning and this city council is united in working together with our community, and the Floyd family to equitably reshape our city of Minneapolis.”
But the settlement could have implications for the criminal trial of Chauvin, who is charged with second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after holding his knee on Floyd’s neck on May 25. The incident, captured on video that went viral, led to months of nationwide protests.
Three other former officers also charged in Floyd’s death and named in the Floyd family lawsuit — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao — are scheduled to be tried separately in August.
As jury selection for Chauvin’s trial began this week, Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney, sought to block mention of any possible payout by the city to the Floyd’s family, arguing it would be prejudicial.
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