According to a statement, Philadelphia will pay $9.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by racial justice activists. They alleged they were assaulted by police during a 2020 march in reaction to the death of George Floyd.
The Philadelphia city administration indicated in a written statement that the money will be divided among 343 claimants. They claimed to have suffered physical and emotional injury following protests spurred by the police killing of Floyd.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs stated that the city will provide at least $500,000 to the Bread & Roses Community Fund. It will be to pay for free mental health care for people of West Philadelphia, a predominantly Black neighborhood.
The clip shows Philadelphia police deploying tear gas and pepper spray to disperse a large group of protestors. They were gathered on a major highway. The plaintiffs also alleged that rubber bullets were fired at them by police.
A video of an officer dragging Floyd’s neck to the ground with his knee for about nine minutes went viral. Protests then erupted around the nation in 2020, including in Philadelphia.
The Legal Defense Fund described the settlement as “one of the largest in the city’s history.” The Fund said that the West Philadelphia Police Department had promised to organize community meetings every six months at which officers would provide information on the department’s use of force and respond to neighbors’ complaints.
James Kenney, the mayor of Philadelphia, acknowledged the “incalculable sadness and anguish” caused by “a legacy of institutional racism and police violence against Black and Brown Philadelphians,” but he expressed confidence that the settlement will aid in the healing process.
