More than 340 plaintiffs have been awarded $9.25 million for police brutality during the George Floyd protests in 2020.
The US city of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $9.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by protesters who say city police responded with excessive force when protests broke out on the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
On Monday, the city government released a written statement saying the funds would be split among 343 plaintiffs. The city will also provide a $500,000 grant to the Bread and Roses Community Fund to provide mental health services to those who have experienced police brutality.
“We’ve been through the boom, and if it can get us to a point where we can continue to heal, it’s worth it,” Mayor Jim Kenney said.
Huge protests against police violence rocked the United States in 2020 after the death of George Floydan unarmed black man who was killed when police in Minneapolis, Minnesota pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes as he struggled to breathe.
Looting and violence took place in some towns, but protests were largely peaceful. In some cities, law enforcement were accused of using heavy techniques against peaceful protesters.
In early June 2020, videos circulating on social media show Philadelphia police firing tear gas at protesters who had blocked a highway. Trapped between two specialist police units, protesters had nowhere to go as they were hit with tear gas, pepper spray and, some say, rubber bullets.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys also said police turned predominantly black neighborhoods in Philadelphia into spaces resembling a war zone, with militarized police vehicles “indiscriminately firing tear gas canisters” at residents.
Protests in the city included clashes with police, the burning of several police vehicles and some instances of theft.
“Along with city, state and community stakeholders, we will continue to work tirelessly to improve what we do as police to protect the First Amendment rights of protesters, keep our communities safe and our officers and ultimately prove that we are committed to a higher standard,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a statement.
City officials also ended their participation in a controversial program that allows state and local law enforcement agencies to receive surplus military equipment from the federal government, which critics say has contributed to militarization of the police.
A 2021 analysis by the New York Times found that police in many cities across the country mishandled protests and often responded with excessive force.
Years after Floyd’s death, however, the United States keep on fighting with allegations of racism and excessive militarization of the police.
A study 2021 published in the medical journal The Lancet found that deaths from police violence were significantly underreported, with US national statistics recording under 17,000 deaths from 1980 to 2018. This accounted for 55.5% of all related deaths to the police.