New York has agreed to pay up to $6 million to hundreds of protesters beaten by NYPD during George Floyd demonstrations.

New York has agreed to pay up to $6 million to protesters beaten by NYPD during a George Floyd demonstration in the Bronx.

The proposed settlement, filed late Tuesday night in Manhattan Federal Court, is expected to fetch at least $21,500 apiece for the more than 300 people who spoke out against police brutality and systemic racism in the Mott Haven neighborhood on June 4, 2020.

The deal, which must be approved by U.S. District Judge Collin McMahon, is the largest single-person group settlement involving mass arrests during a protest, lawyers for the demonstrators said.

Footage of the chaotic event shows police using a tactic known as “locking in” to barricade protesters on E. 136th Street, refusing to let them disperse, beating them with batons while their arms were tied with zip ties, and spraying pepper spray on their bloodied faces .

The protest was one of hundreds that followed Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020 at the hands of Minneapolis police.

According to the city’s Department of Investigation, the NYPD arrested more people at that June protest in the Bronx than at any other protest that summer.

Everyone later saw that their charges were dropped by Bronx District Attorney Darsel Clark. Protesters who were given turnout tickets instead of subpoenas by police – meaning they stayed longer – should receive an additional $2,500 if the settlement is approved.

Rob Rickner, a lawyer for the protesters, said they believe police deliberately trapped them and staged a violent “show of force” to “show they can control people.”

“We are talking about a dozen white shirts, high-level people, [then Chief of Department] Terence Monahan is coordinating the scene,” Rickner said.

The NYPD prepares to make an arrest as protesters violate a citywide curfew on June 4, 2020 in the Bronx.

The event was widely condemned, with Human Rights Watch describing the actions of the officers as “deliberate, planned, and unjustified.”

“The violence that hit us that night was deliberate, unwarranted and will stay with me for the rest of my life,” said Henry Wood, one of the protesters.

“While I’m glad we were able to secure some monetary restitution for those of us who were mistreated by the NYPD that night, nothing will change what happened to us and many others suffering under the boot of the police in America. “.

The NYPD prepares to make an arrest as protesters violate a citywide curfew on June 4, 2020 in the Bronx.

An NYPD spokesman said police were acting on orders from then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, who imposed an 8 p.m. curfew, as peaceful protests were met with agitators who sparked citywide riots, looting and vandalism. De Blasio defended the police’s handling of the protest in the Bronx.

“This was a challenging moment for the department as officers, themselves suffering from the effects of a global pandemic, did everything they could to promote the people’s right to peaceful expression while cracking down on acts of lawlessness, including widespread riots, mass chaos, violence, and destruction. ,” an NYPD spokesman said.

“Two and a half years after the 2020 protests, much of the NYPD’s policy and training to guard large-scale demonstrations has been revised based on the department’s own self-initiated analysis and recommendations. from three third-party agencies that have carefully researched this period.”

Once the proposed settlement is approved by Judge McMahon, the third-party administrator will notify anyone who may have a claim and the court will hold a fair hearing in 180 days, Rickner said. At this point, the judge will decide whether it is worth refining.

The NYPD arrests protesters on June 4, 2020 in the Bronx.

The Mott Haven lawsuit was filed by five class plaintiffs – Amali and Samira Sierra, Henry Wood, Ricardo Nigaloni and Alex Gutierrez – and is expected to involve more than 300 people. Rickner said some protesters who were seriously injured may choose to go it alone.

The settlement is part of a much larger and more complex class action lawsuit alleging that the NYPD violated the civil rights of protesters during the 2020 protests. Remy Greene, who is representing other plaintiffs in the combined lawsuits, said the proposed agreement does not cover most of the people involved in the larger case.

The deal came two weeks after the NYPD released a revealing internal report criticizing the department’s handling of the demonstrations. A review three years ago by former police commissioner Dermot Shea found that no police commander was leading the action, resources were being misused, and policemen lacked “timely intelligence” as unrest developed.

Demonstrators march to protest the death of George Floyd at the South Bronx Retail and Restaurant Center on June 4, 2020.

Amalie Sierra said she was harmed so the NYPD could prove it.

“[Because] The NYPD knew about this protest taking place in the predominantly black and brown body area of ​​the South Bronx, we were an example. Message,” Sierra said.

“This agreement serves as a testament to the NYPD’s wrongdoing and a reminder that this institution is not designed to protect black and brown communities.”

With Rocco Parascandola

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