Minneapolis to pay record $27M to settle suit with Floyd family
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis will pay a record $27 million to settle the lawsuit brought by George Floyd’s family.
Attorneys for the family called it the “largest pretrial settlement in a civil rights wrongful death case in U.S. history.”
“When George Floyd was horrifically killed on May 25, 2020, it was a watershed moment for America,” family attorney Ben Crump said at a Friday afternoon news conference. “It was one of the most egregious and shocking documentations of an American citizen being tortured to death by a police officer ... one of the worst ever witnessed in history.
“History will judge us for how we responded to this tragedy.”
Crump applauded Mayor Jacob Frey and council members for the settlement, saying Minneapolis was being watched 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.”
With the mayor standing nearby, Crump complimented the city’s police reforms since Floyd’s death and urged further changes.
“Mayor Frey, you have our word, our voices and our might to help you muscle through additional change that will transform policing in Minneapolis and hopefully policing in America.”
At the news conference, Frey called this moment a “once in a generation opportunity to truly effectuate change.”
Floyd’s nephew, Brandon Williams, said he hopes the settlement changes the way policing is done.
“They’re supposed to protect and serve ... Had the officer deescalated the situation, we’re not here doing this press conference, George is still alive,” Williams said. “We’d give the settlement back gladly to have George here with us.”
After a roughly 40-minute private meeting Friday afternoon, City Council members voted unanimously to approve the settlement, and Frey’s office said he will approve it as well.
Of the $27 million, $500,000 will be used “for the benefit of the community around 38th and Chicago,” where Floyd died, according to the city.
“This is a deeply traumatic event that, unfortunately, is a part of too many Black and brown families’ realities,” Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins said after the vote. “There is no amount of money that can replace a brother, a son, a nephew, a father, a loved one but what we can do is continue to work towards justice and equity and equality in the city of Minneapolis and that’s what I commit to do.”
The settlement could have major implications for the city and its Police Department, whose fate hangs in the balance as some city leaders and community members seek to replace it.
Floyd’s family sued the city and the four officers charged in his death in July, just months after his death — and the video of former Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on him — spurred protests across the world.
When they filed the suit, Crump said, “This is an unprecedented case, and with this lawsuit we seek to set a precedent that makes it financially prohibitive for police to wrongfully kill marginalized people — especially Black people — in the future.”