The city of Seattle announced Wednesday that it had reached a $10 million settlement with 50 plaintiffs who sued the city after being injured for taking part in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests of 2020.
The 50 plaintiffs were represented by Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore, and reportedly “suffered permanent hearing loss, broken bones, concussions, wounds, bruising, and emotional damage including PTSD.”
The lawsuit, filed nearly three years ago, cost the city millions of dollars in defense funds. Ann Davison, Seattle City Attorney, said the settlement “was the best financial decision for the City considering risk, cost, and insurance.”
Davison noted that the settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing on behalf of the city, and added that “The case has been a significant drain on the time and resources of the City and would have continued to be so through an estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May.”
Judge Sandra Widlan rejected the city’s primary argument, which claimed that protesters “assumed the risk” of being injured by officers responding to the rioting when they chose to exercise their First Amendment rights.
Aubreanna Inda, one of the plaintiffs, was “standing still peacefully when a blast ball was launched directly at her chest, striking her and causing her to go into cardiac arrest,” according to the law firm. Inda, who had a bond violation in 2015, and received a DUI in 2016 reportedly “placed herself as a meat shield between other rioters and police. Predictably, she was hit in the chest by non-lethal ammo when police were forced to use crowd control measures because rioters were throwing rocks and shining lasers in cop’s eyes,” according to Antifa Watch.
Another plaintiff, Kel Murphy, suffered a seizure and a coma after being “piled on” by officers for “putting a sticker” on a barricade, according to Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore. Other plaintiffs, a disabled veteran who was reportedly “tackled because he didn’t retreat fast enough,” and a teenager who had his finger partially blown off by a blast ball, were among several protesters who were reported to have suffered “permanent” injuries and emotional damage.
Several other cities have dolled out millions to BLM protesters who claim they were injured by police officers while protesting alleged police violence.
