Amid ex-cop’s murder trial, George Floyd’s family agrees to $27M settlement
MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis on 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 former officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial.
Council members met privately to discuss the settlement, then returned to public session for a unanimous vote in support of the massive payout. It easily surpassed the $20 million the city approved two years ago to the family of a white woman killed by a police officer.
Floyd family attorney Ben Crump called it the largest pretrial settlement ever for a civil rights claim, and thanked city leaders for “showing you care about George Floyd.”
“It’s going to be a long journey to justice. This is just one step on the journey to justice,” 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.”
“Even though my brother is not here, he’s here with me in my heart,” Philonise Floyd said. “If I could get him back, I would give all this back.”
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 sculpture and murals in his honor. The city didn’t say how that money would be spent.
Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes.
Ted Sampsell-Jones, a criminal law expert at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, said it’s additional pretrial publicity that is “bad for the defense” and could lead some jurors to think guilt has already been decided.
“However, this ultimately should not affect
the criminal case,” Sampsell-Jones said.
Another potential juror was dismissed Friday after she acknowledged she had a “somewhat negative” view of Chauvin and thought he held his knee to Floyd’s neck for too long. Seven jurors have been seated.