Minneapolis | The family of George Floyd, an African-American who died during his arrest in May 2020, will receive $ 27 million in damages after reaching an agreement with the city of Minneapolis, lawyers for his relatives said on Friday.
“This out-of-court settlement is the largest in US history in a fundamental rights case brought for a death attributable to misconduct,” they said in a statement.
George Floyd’s family had filed a civil complaint in June 2020 against the municipality and the four police officers involved in his death.
The criminal trial of one of them, Derek Chauvin, who had suffocated George Floyd with his knee by immobilizing him on the ground, opened Tuesday in Minneapolis.
The other three officers will be tried later.
The death of George Floyd sparked an outburst of anger not seen since the 1960s in the United States against racism and police violence, which has spread around the world, with demonstrations shouting “Black Lives Matter”.
“The horrific death of George Floyd, seen by millions of people around the world, has unleashed a deep demand for justice and change,” one of the attorneys, Ben Crump, said in a statement.
This agreement “sends a strong message that black lives matter and that police brutality against people of color must end,” he added.
George Floyd’s brother Rodney said the deal was “a necessary step” in bringing the family to mourning.
“George’s memory, for those who loved him, will always be his optimism that things can work out, and we hope this deal will,” he added.
Part of the sum will be used for the development of the district where George Floyd died, which has become the rallying point for events in his memory. The police are not welcome there and several shootings have been deplored in recent months.
Lawyers also praised Minneapolis City Hall’s decision to transform its police force to create a “new model” of public safety.
“After being identified with George Floyd for tragic reasons, Minneapolis will be remembered for its progressive changes that may lead the country to reflect on how to reform and transform the relationship between the police and communities of color,” he said. says Antonio Romanucci.
Ben Crump had already negotiated a “historic” agreement with the city of Louisville which had agreed last September to pay $ 12 million to the family of a young African-American, Breonna Taylor, killed at home during a police operation .