Minneapolis to pay George Floyd family $27M in settlement News
Minneapolis to pay George Floyd family $27M in settlement

The city council of Minneapolis unanimously voted Friday to approve a $27 million settlement with the family of George Floyd. Of the $27 million, “$500,000 will be used for the benefit of the community around 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis,” which is the area where Floyd was killed. Mayor Jacob Frey’s office indicated that he would also be approving the city council’s decision. The settlement comes one day after a judge reinstated a third-degree murder charge against Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin.

George Floyd’s family had originally filed a civil suit against the city of Minneapolis and the four officers involved in his death on July 15, 2020. The complaint asserted that the officers violated Floyd’s “right to be free from the use of excessive force” and that the city’s police department policies failed to provide proper training on the use of force against subjects. According to the complaint, Minneapolis allowed officers to participate in “Killology” training, which “teaches officers to consider every person and every situation as a potential deadly threat and to kill ‘less hesitantly.'” An additional section of the complaint alleged that the city failed to discipline or terminate officers who committed misconduct patterns, including Chauvin.

Ben Crump, one of the attorneys for Floyd’s family, stated that the settlement is “the largest pre-trial settlement in a civil rights wrongful death case in US history.” At a press release following the settlement announcement, Crump and several of Floyd’s family members made statements supporting the city council’s decision.

As of March 12, seven jurors have been selected for Chauvin’s trial. The opening arguments are scheduled for March 29.