NYC Protestors to Receive $21,500 Each for 2020 Police Kettling

The City of New York has proposed a settlement in the class action lawsuit filed by protestors “kettled” by officers from the New York Police Department during the summer of 2020.

According to the city’s proposed settlement, each protestor in the class action would receive at least $21,500.

If agreed upon, the settlement would be among the largest, in terms of individual payouts, of any class action suit in the country involving mass arrests.

Protesters allege that on June 4, 2020, during a demonstration demanding justice for George Floyd, they were kettled, or boxed in, by police, pepper sprayed, and taken into custody. More than 300 people who were present that day have joined the class action.

In a statement, Henry Wood, who was among the demonstrators “kettled” recalled, “The violence unleashed upon us that night was intentional, unwarranted, and will be with me for the rest of my life. What the NYPD did, aided by the political powers of New York City, was an extreme abuse of power. While I am relieved that we have been able to secure some monetary restitution for those of us brutalized by the NYPD that night, nothing will change what happened to us and so many others suffering under the boot of the police in America.”

The settlement must still be approved by a judge before it can be finalized.

Is $21,500 per demonstrator enough?

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