The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Black Lives Matter protesters who claimed that they were victims of excessive force during the 2020 demonstrations.
The settlement comes after years of legal battles and negotiations between the city and the protesters.
A group of 50 BLM protesters filed the lawsuit claiming that the Seattle Police Department was a bit heavy-handed during the demonstrations following the death of George Floyd.
Floyd died in 2020 during an arrest involving excessive force by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, sparking nationwide protests and unjustified race riots.
Doing the math, the settlement amounts to a $200,000 payment to each protester involved in the suit.
NEW: The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit from a group of demonstrators injured by police during the 2020 uprising in protest of George Floyd’s murder.
https://t.co/8wty3nfN7n— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) January 25, 2024
Black Lives Matter Gets A Hefty Payday For Rioting
A statement from the City Attorney in Seattle seems to indicate that the $10 million payday was simply a means to settle the matter and move forward.
“This decision was the best financial decision for the City considering risk, cost, and insurance,” he said. “The case has been a significant drain on the time and resources of the City and would have continued to be so through an estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May.”
It’s never really a good strategy to give in to extortionists, especially those who burned and looted your city for months on end.
You don’t reward a child who steals a cookie by giving them $10 to buy more cookies.
Attorneys for the Black Lives Matter protesters claimed that their clients suffered a whole host of injuries ranging from hearing loss and broken bones to “emotional damage.”
