The city of Minneapolis on Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over his death in police custody, as jury selection continued in a former police officer’s murder trial.
The City Council members met privately to discuss the settlement, then returned to public session for a unanimous vote in support of the payout. It surpassed the $20 million settlement the city approved two years ago to the family of a white woman killed by a police officer.
The settlement includes $500,000 for the south Minneapolis neighbourhood that includes the 38th and Chicago intersection that has been blocked by barricades since his death, with a massive metal sculpture and murals in his honor.
Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked protests across the United States and the world.
City Council President Lisa Bender choked up as she addressed a news conference about the settlement, saying she knew “no amount of money” could bring Floyd back.
“I just want you to know how deeply we are with you,” she said to Floyd’s family members.
Floyd’s family filed the federal civil rights lawsuit in July against the city, Chauvin and three other fired police officers charged in his death. It alleged that the officers violated Floyd’s rights when they restrained him, and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish in its police force.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the settlement might affect the trial or the jury now being seated to hear it. Floyd family lawyer Ben Crump said the settlement is a way “to help shape what justice looks like” rather than waiting for a result from a legal system that many Blacks distrust.
“The one thing we know as Black people … is there is no guarantee that a police officer will be convicted for killing a Black person unjustly in our country,” Crump said. “That’s what history has taught us.”
