MINNEAPOLIS TO PAY $27 MILLION TO SETTLE LAWSUIT WITH GEORGE FLOYD’S 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.”

“George Floyd’s horrific death, witnessed by millions of people around the world, unleashed a deep longing and undeniable demand for justice and change,” family attorney Ben Crump said in a statement.

After a roughly 40-minute private meeting Friday afternoon, City Council members voted unanimously to approve the settlement, and Mayor Jacob 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.

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 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 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.”

George Floyd’s sister Bridgett Floyd, who attended jury selection earlier this week for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, said in a statement she was glad the lawsuit was resolved.

“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,” she said.

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. The city didn’t immediately 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. Floyd’s death sparked sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond and led to a national reckoning on racial justice.