Hundreds of peaceful protesters who were violently arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest in New York City could be getting some of the biggest-ever payouts in a class-action mass arrest case. The city has agreed to pay $21,500 to each of around 300 protesters who were penned in on a Bronx street in June 2020 in a practice known as "kettling," the New York Times reports. In a lawsuit filed against the city and former NYPD chief Terry Monahan, among others, protesters said multiple people were "left injured and bleeding" after police hit the trapped protesters with batons and used pepper spray on them in an unprovoked attack. "Some protesters fainted, or lost consciousness and went into convulsions," the lawsuit states.
Human Rights Watch said the mass arrest violated international human rights law. The protesters were "brought to jails all over the city and held for hours overnight and into the next day with no food and little or no water. Many are injured and get no medical help," the group said in a September 2020 report. The group said it was one of the "most aggressive police responses" to the protests that erupted nationwide after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis. Joshua S. Moskovitz, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, tells BuzzFeed that the "unprecedented settlement recognizes that the NYPD’s actions ... were grievously wrong."
The settlement was filed in federal court Tuesday, and if it is approved, it is expected to cost the city close to $7 million, though around 90 people have already reached separate settlements. Those who were "kettled" are eligible for $21,500 payouts and those arrested can get another $2,500. Martin Stolar, a civil rights attorney not involved in the case, tells
Gothamist that the settlement is "highly unusual." "It shows me that the city is making an admission that there was substantial wrongdoing on the part of the department, and rather than going to trial where they risk judgment of a higher amount, they agreed to a settlement," Stolar says. In a statement, the NYPD said it has reviewed and changed many of its policies for large-scale demonstrations.
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