The city of Seattle, Washington, agreed to pay on Wednesday. $10 million to settle lawsuit From a group of Black Lives Matter protesters who took part in the violent and destructive 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd.
Wednesday press release The city of Seattle is settling a lawsuit filed by a group of 50 protesters who say they were injured by police while demonstrating in September 2020. Seattle admitted no wrongdoing.
According to the city, the complaint includes hundreds of interactions between protesters and local law enforcement officials, more than 1 million pages of records, more than 10,000 videos, hundreds of witness interviews, and extensive court filings.
“This decision was the best financial decision for the city considering risk, cost and insurance,” Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said in a statement. “This litigation has consumed a significant amount of the city's time and resources, and would have continued to do so during the estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May.”
“This settlement resolves the majority of remaining claims arising from the 2020 demonstration period and is a major step toward allowing the city to focus on the important work of today while moving forward from the events of four years ago. ,” Davison added.
The riots that erupted in the wake of George Floyd's death in May 2020 resulted in the destruction of many local businesses, significant property damage, and even casualties.
A six-block area of Seattle was occupied by BLM activists who declared it an autonomous zone called the Occupy Capitol Hill Protest Zone, also known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. The rioters forced police from the area, where multiple people were shot and two people were killed.
A lawyer for the factory said one protester suffered a heart attack after being hit by a bullet fired by Seattle police. seattle times report. Another plaintiff, a military veteran who uses a cane, was allegedly “gassed and tackled because he did not back up fast enough.” The lawyers argued that “dozens of other people suffered permanent hearing loss, broken bones, concussions, scars, bruises, and psychological damage” as a result of SPD's response.
Judge Sandra Widran rejected Seattle's argument that protesters “assumed a risk” of being injured by law enforcement when they chose to participate in the riot. Despite outrageous objective evidence that a significant number of the demonstrators who took part in the demonstrations were extremely destructive and violent, the corporate media did not allow activists to exercise their right to free speech peacefully. He continues to claim that he participated in the protests.
Karen Koehler, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, argued that her clients were “engaging in First Amendment speech and activism against the very acts of police brutality they faced.” She blamed the city for not admitting wrongdoing.
“They should have said, 'We're sorry that we were punk, brutal, peaceful protesters,'” Koehler said.
Despite left-wing claims that the 2020 riots were not destructive, the city of Seattle previously announced that more than a dozen business owners suffered significant property damage at the hands of so-called “peaceful protesters.” agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the city and residents. ” Blaze News previously reported.
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