George Floyd killing: Minneapolis agrees to pay $27 million

George Perry Floyd was born on October 14, 1973 and died on May 25, 2020 and was an African American man killed during an arrest after a store clerk alleged he had passed a counterfeit $20 bill in Minneapolis. Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd’s neck for a period initially reported to be 8 minutes and 46 seconds. After his death, protests against police brutality, especially toward Black people, quickly spread across the United States and internationally. The city of Minneapolis on Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over the Black man’s death in police custody, as jury selection continued in a former officer’s murder trial. To discuss the settlement the council members met privately and then returned to public sessions for strong vote in support of humongous payout. It easily exceed $20 million to the family of white women killed by a police officer. $20 million were approved to family by city two years ago. Floyd family attorney Ben Crump called it the largest pretrial settlement ever for a civil rights claim, and thanked city leaders for showing you care about George Floyd. Crump said ‘black lives matter’ and it is really going to be a long journey to get justice. This is just one step on the journey to justice. This makes a statement that George Floyd deserved better than what we ackwitnessed on May 25, 2020, that George Floyd’s life mattered. Philonise Floyd said Even though my brother is not here with me physically, he’s here with me in my heart. If I could get him back, I would give all this back. L. Chris Stewart, another advocate who worked with the family, said the size of the settlement “changes evaluations and civil rights for a Black person when they die”. City Council President Lisa Bender choked up as she addressed a news conference about the settlement, saying she knew that 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. The settlement includes $500,000 for the south Minneapolis neighborhood that includes the 38th and Chicago intersection that has been blocked by barricades since his death, with a huge metal sculpture and paintings in his honor. The city immediately didn’t told how that money would be spent. Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, who is white and the one who pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes. Floyd’s death summoned sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond and led to a national judgments on racial justice.