Minneapolis to pay $27 million settlement to George Floyd’s family

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The city of Minneapolis will pay a settlement of $27 million to George Floyd’s family.
• The settlement comes as the jury selection continues for ex-cop Derek Chauvin’s murder trial.
• Floyd’s family lawyers said that the settlement could serve as a silver lining for other marginalized communities.

Minneapolis city will pay a $27 million lawsuit settlement to the bereaved family of George Floyd ━ the highest pretrial settlement in a civil rights brutal death case in US history.

The settlement though came at the start of Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, the ex-police officer who kneeled down on Floyd’s neck that resulted in his killing. Per experts, the simultaneous happening of these events could impact the trial.

Floyd’s family’s legal counsel said that the settlement could serve as a ray of sunshine for other marginalized communities given the enormous amount of the suit.

“This is a message that the unjust taking of Black life will no longer be written off as trivial, unimportant, or unworthy of consequences,” lawyer Ben Crump said.

Crump also noted that the event could aid in reversing the city’s stature.

“After the eyes of the world rested on Minneapolis in its darkest hour, now the city can be a beacon of hope and light and change for cities across America and across the globe,” he said.

The settlement’s grant followed after the City Council all voted to pass the amount.

“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,” Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender 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.”

The settlement also came as the jury selection went on for Chauvin’s trial. Experts noted that the selection could be harder given the timing. A big majority of potential jurors already saw the video of Floyd’s arrest. Jurors could treat the settlement as a gesture that the accused officer was acting unlawfully.

The lawyers announced that they will also be working alongside the local government and implement efforts in a bid to avoid another similar incident.

The settlement’s amount also showed that payments made for police brutality are rapidly increasing in recent years.

The case, which was officially filed July last year, charged the four former Minneapolis cops with murder as they recklessly disregarded Floyd’s civil rights as the city was condemned for tolerating police brutality and a culture of racial injustice.

Source: SLATE.com