Minneapolis to pay $27M to settle Floyd suit
Family charged officers violated victim’s civil rights
The city council voted unanimously to the civil lawsuit terms of George Floyd’s family, who charged that officers had violated his civil rights.
The city of Minneapolis Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over the Black man’s death in police custody, as jury selection continued in a former officer’s murder trial.
Council members met privately to discuss the settlement, then returned to public session for a unanimous vote in support of the payout.
“It’s going to be a long journey to justice. This is just one step on the journey to justice,“Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said. “This makes a statement that George Floyd deserved better than what we witnessed on May 25, 2020, that George Floyd’s life mattered, and that by extension, Black lives matter.”
George Floyd’s sister Bridgett Floyd, who attended jury selection earlier this week for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, said in a statement, “Our family suffered an irreplaceable loss May 25 when George’s life was senselessly taken by a Minneapolis police officer. While we will never get our beloved George back, we will continue to work tirelessly to make this world a better, and safer, place for all.”
The settlement includes $500,000 for the south Minneapolis neighborhood that includes the 38th and Chicago intersection that has been blocked by barricades since his death, with a massive metal sculpture and murals in his honor.
Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond and led to a national reckoning on racial justice.
“I hope that today will center the voices of the family and anything that they would like to share,“Council President Lisa Bender said. “But I do want to, on behalf of the entire City Council, offer my deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd, his friends and all of our community who are mourning his loss.”
Floyd’s family filed the federal civil rights lawsuit in July against the city, Chauvin and three other fired officers charged in his death.
It alleged the officers violated Floyd’s rights, and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish in its police force.
Meanwhile, a potential juror was dismissed Friday after she acknowledged having a negative view of the defendant.
With jury selection in its fourth day, six people have been seated — five men and one woman.
Three of those are white, one is multiracial, one is Hispanic and one is Black, according to Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, who has set aside three weeks for jury selection.