NYC to pay millions in class-action lawsuit involving police 'kettling' of protesters in 2020
USA TodayMar 01, 2023
New York City has agreed to pay $21.5K to at least 200 protesters who were detained, arrested, or met with force by police during a June 4, 2020 demonstration protesting the death of George Floyd. It will pay another $21.5k each to cover legal costs, and $2.5k to defendants given court tickets, totaling more than $10M.
The lawsuit, first filed on behalf of five protesters in October 2020, accused the New York Police Department (NYPD) of engaging in a "brutal response" to the demonstration by boxing the crowd in — a tactic called "kettling" — before handcuffing them with plastic restraints and striking them with batons.
The NYPD’s purposefully corralling of peaceful protesters and brutal assault drew a horrifying resemblance to police abuse during the 1965 Selma, Alabama march, and everyone responsible should face the consequences. If the police want to be respected, they should steer clear of such tactics in the future — especially when the protest is specifically about police brutality.
America's police departments were not dealing with benign, peaceful protesters during the summer of 2020 — they were in a war instigated by the left through lies in the media and from politicians as high up as Pres. Biden. Millions of people took to the streets, and the police did what they had to do to restore peace. Some overstepped the bounds of their training, but we shouldn't paint all officers with a broad brush.