New York City has reportedly agreed to pay out a total of $13 million to over 1,000 Black Lives Matter “protesters” who were arrested during the BLM riots of 2020.
Roughly 1,380 “protesters” who were arrested between May 28th and June 4th of that year are slated to each receive $9,950 plus lawyers’ fees, according to the New York Daily News.
These conditions are part of a proposed Manhattan Federal Court settlement with New York City that stems from a case filed in 2021.
Filed by the New York City chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, the 2021 suit accused the New York Police Department of violating the civil and constitutional rights of so-called “protesters.”
The suit specifically said the cops were guilty of “excessive use of force, improper use of pepper spray and employing violent crowd control measures like ‘kettling,’ in which they barricaded protesters without letting them disperse,” the Daily News notes.
BLM protesters swarm Rochester restaurant, flip tables, throw chairs, chase away terrified customers https://t.co/caOIKfcMyf pic.twitter.com/TRumwQJ2eH
— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) September 5, 2020
According to The New York Times, lawyers for the city pushed back on these accusations by portraying “the police as contending with a powerful storm of anger interspersed with serious criminal activity, all taking place against the backdrop of a pandemic.”
“Some protests devolved to looting and rioting. Protesters set police cars ablaze; vandalized precinct houses; threw rocks, bricks, bottles at officers; stabbed, punched, bit officers; and hurled Molotov cocktails at officers,” the lawyers said.
In one court filing, the lawyers reportedly included photographs of four bloodied police officers who’d been attacked by the so-called “peaceful protesters.”
However, lawyers for the plaintiff reportedly had plenty of video evidence of their own to share.
“One video from outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 29, 2020, shows several police officers, including a commander, aiming overhand baton blows at a figure on the ground. Another video shows a group of officers following protesters down a sidewalk in East Flatbush on May 30 and knocking some to the pavement,” the Times notes.
They couldn’t even stop doing police brutality at the police brutality protest.
A lot just popped off at the protest for George Floyd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Pepper spray, batons, and several arrests. #icantbreathe
— – Kerem Çınar – (@KRMCNR) May 31, 2020
The only catch is that the settlement still has to be approved by a judge. But once approved, it’s expected to be among the most expensive ever awarded over alleged police brutality.
That said, it’s not the only suit in progress. There are additional in progress, including some even in the NYC area.
“Another class action settlement announced earlier this year would award $21,500 to demonstrators in the Bronx who were arrested. The payout could total around $10 million, including legal fees,” according to Fox News.
“Separately, more than 600 people have brought individual claims against New York City related to police action during the 2020 protests, according to the city’s comptroller, Brad Lander. Settlements in these cases have cost the city nearly $12 million,” Fox News notes.
Responding to the most recent settlement, critics were incensed for a couple of reasons.
One, many of the so-called BLM “protests” were extremely violent. And number two, it seems nobody gives a damn about the alleged police brutality committed by the Capitol police during the Jan. 6th riot.
NYC taxpayers … how proud are you of your vote now? The people that tried to destroy your city are gonna get a check. Cracks me up. Democrats are fools.
— MAGA PATRIOT TGM (TERI) (@udreams30) July 20, 2023
They have to pay the rioters? I swear, up is down, down is up, good is bad, bad is good, right is wrong, wrong is right ..what’s happening to my country? I don’t like it one bit
— Kathy Suddath (@kathy_suddath) July 20, 2023
Are we going to ask them to pool those funds to pay for their destruction of businesses and public facilities, oh, and the damage to police cars? Can the tax payers sue them for the harm they caused?
— Irene Durbin (@IreneDurbin8) July 21, 2023
Talk about reverse psychology incentives , OMG this has to be the most moronic waste of taxpayer monies to date and there have been multitudes.
Somebody please stop the madness in our major cities.
INDEFENSIBLE— Joe Alex (@Jalex123456) July 20, 2023
Cops who responded to summer 2020 riots are being successfully sued and are portrayed as the bad guys while capitol cops are portrayed as heros for j6 and are receiving metals. Even though they used tear gas and flashbacks on protesters outside the capitol on people who weren’t…
— Kristin Marie House (@JemmingKristin) July 20, 2023
But there is some potential “good news” for those opposed to the settlement.
“Protesters arrested in connection with violence — those arrested on charges including trespassing, property destruction, assaulting an officer, arson or weapons possession — will be excluded from the settlement. Those seen on video blocking police from making arrests may also be ineligible,” Fox News notes.
Moreover, under the settlement agreement, neither the city nor the New York Police Department is required to admit wrongdoing.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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