WASHINGTON: The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday reached a $27-million settlement with the family of George Floyd, almost a year after the black man’s death.
The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved the agreement to settle the civil lawsuit filed by Floyd’s family, Mayor Jacob Frey said at a press conference attended by representatives of the city’s administration, members of the victim’s family and their lawyers.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in May after Minneapolis police pinned him to the ground for over eight minutes as he begged for his life.
His death, which was filmed by bystanders, sparked an unprecedented nation-wide protest movement to address systematic racism and police brutality in the United States.
“This historic agreement, the largest pre-trial settlement in a police civil rights wrongful death case in US history, makes a statement that George Floyd deserved better than what we witnessed on May 25, 2020. That George Floyd’s life matters, and by extension black lives matter,” Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said in the press conference.
“This is a message that the unjust taking of black lives will no longer be written off as trivial, unimportant or unworthy of consequences,” Crump said.
Meanwhile jury selection continued in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck and has since been expelled from the police.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. He has also pleaded not guilty to third-degree murder, which was reinstated in the case on Thursday.
The three other officers who held Floyd down have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.
The US House of Representatives passed a comprehensive police reform bill on Wednesday, more than nine months after the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of police.
A majority in the Democratic-led House approved the bill, with 220 lawmakers voting in favour and 212 against.
Among other things, the draft law named after Floyd stipulates that the federal government should create incentives for banning choke holds and carotid holds during police operations.
Floyd died in May last
year after a police officer in Minneapolis pinned him to the ground with his knee for nearly nine minutes. — dpa
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