New York to Pay $13.7 Million Settlement to BLM Rioters for Police Response
On Wednesday, New York City agreed to pay a $13.7 million settlement to the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors for the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) treatment of rioters.
More than 1,300 protestors were plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and each will receive approximately $10,000 after the settlement is approved by a judge. This will likely be one of the largest “protestor payout” settlements in history.
The lawsuit accuses NYPD of engaging in activities that “violated the constitutional rights of individuals who were protesting police misconduct” by allegedly using tactics such as “corralling protestors … beating protestors with batons and fists, throwing protestors to the ground, using pepper spray indiscriminately, and ultimately arresting many of the protestors without lawful justification and without fair warning.”
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that “all of these activities were without lawful justification,” and that officers did not use similar crowd control methods when responding to “blue lives matter” demonstrations. The lawsuit did not cite any instances of violence perpetrated by other demonstrators which would have warranted a more forceful response from officers.
The BLM protests, which were sparked nationwide following the death of George Floyd, began in New York City on May 28, 2020, according to the suit.
The lawsuit also echos claims made on the now-famous CNN chyron which said that BLM protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin were “fiery but mostly peaceful,” while protestors burned vehicles in the background.
“Although there were some instances of property damage and injuries to NYPD officers occurred at some of these protests, the vast majority of the protesters were peaceful and did not engage in property damage,” the lawsuit claimed. “Defendants [NYPD, New York City officials] failed to distinguish protestors from the individuals who damaged property or otherwise violated the law.”
The BLM riots in 2020 were among the most damaging in United States history, costing more than $2 billion in damages nationwide.
“More than 700 police officers were injured while attempting to deescalate protests, according to Justice Department data. More than 150 federal buildings were damaged, some even burned to the ground, as a result of the violent BLM riots.”
TPUSA Live Feed
Last year, Portland, Oregon reached a $250,000 settlement with BLM protestors. Minneapolis, Minnesota also made a $600,000 protestor payout last year, which was divided between 12 demonstrators who sustained injuries during the riots.
TPUSA Contributor Savanah Hernandez, who gathered extensive on the ground footage during the protests, explained during an interview with Tucker Carlson how difficult it was for reporters to even cover these demonstrations without being harmed themselves. Videos, like the one below, show the damages cities and businesses incurred during the summer of 2020.
