Minneapolis will pay the family of George Floyd $27 million — the largest pre-trial settlement in a civil rights wrongful death case in U.S. history, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
“George Floyd’s horrific death, witnessed by millions of people around the world, unleashed a deep longing and undeniable demand for justice and change,” attorney Crump said in a statement. It “sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end,” Crump added.
The civil case against the city is separate from the ongoing criminal trial of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes on May 25, 2020, as Floyd repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe and begged for his life.
When Floyd’s family filed the lawsuit, 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,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Chauvin faces second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Floyd’s death. Jury duty began this week. Three other former officers charged in his death — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — are expected to go to trial Aug. 23. They are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.
