City of Minneapolis reaches $27M settlement with George Floyd's family
By: Shaquille Brewster and Janelle Griffith (MSN)
Well that ought to bring him back .....................
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis has reached a $27 million settlement with George Floyd's family just weeks before the trial is scheduled to begin for the former officer charged with murder in his death.
© Provided by NBC News
The City Council unanimously approved the settlement Friday after adding the matter to its agenda for a closed session
Floyd's family filed a federal lawsuit in July against the city and the four officers involved in the arrest that led to his death. The lawsuit took issue with neck restraints and police policies and training, among other things. It sought compensatory and special damages in an amount to be determined by a jury.
Benjamin Crump and other attorneys representing Floyd's family members are scheduled to hold a news conference Friday afternoon.
Asked whether he would make an announcement about a settlement, Crump said, "all things are possible."
"The city needs to exhibit responsible leadership in the face of the horrific tragedy that really was a watershed moment for America," Crump said in an interview Friday.
© Nicholas Pfosi Security is beefed up ahead of Chauvin trial. (Nicholas Pfosi / Reuters)
The first former officer set to stand trial, Derek Chauvin, was recorded kneeling on Floyd's neck for about nine minutes on May 25, while a handcuffed Floyd repeatedly said, "I can't breathe" and called out for his mother.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, as well as third-degree murder. Jury selection is underway in his trial. Six of 12 jurors have been seated as of Friday morning.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who is overseeing the trial, on Thursday granted prosecutors' request to reinstate a third-degree murder charge. He had rejected the charge last fall on the grounds it was not warranted by the circumstances of Floyd's death. But an appellate court ruling last month in an unrelated case established new grounds.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered Cahill to reconsider whether to add the third-degree murder charge a week ago. Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, appealed that ruling, but the state Supreme Court said this week it would not intervene.
The three other officers involved — Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng — are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. They are expected to go to trial in August. All four officers were fired the day after Floyd's death.
Shaquille Brewster reported from Minneapolis and Janelle Griffith reported from New York.
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Well that's a horse of a different color......................or not. Seems the $$$$$ provides closure. /S
And here comes the cynical touch from somebody right out of the gate. Nothing about the rationale of WHY the city thought it in appropriate or in the best interest of the people of Minneapolis to settle.
Kind of a no brainer. Now, what happens if the citizens don't like the verdict/punishment? Do you think that the city was trying to avoid riots by awarding this? Saves them some money in court but other than that, perhaps you can share your thoughts or those of the city GovCo
Right after you share thoughts on why its "kind of a no brainer." Go ahead, I'll wait. Note: So you know that I am paying attention: You approximate a court would award more than the city council settlement.
They don't want it to drag out and go to court and spend the time and resources for something they are going to lose anyway.
And you may, MAY be correct. We will never know now will we. $27M is still a bit much and won't bring him back unfortunately.
Well, you know how "no brainers" work. The taxpayers should DEMAND the city council BUSY itself with modifying or recreating policing fundamentals in the city! If only to save payouts for incompetent policing that does not protect and serve. Develop policing that is not a simile for fear, dread, and street justice.
For example, remove or modify the police standard: Qualified Immunity. Yes, I comprehend its value to the individual officer. Yes, I understand its capability and capacity to be abused.
At some immediate point of qualified immunity limiting or removal, officers will consider just how much sophistication goes into dealing with the public again. And no, I don't want to punish or see officers injured or killed, I just want EVERYBODY to try again to remember what it is to live free of a "sabotaged" death. Everybody to be on an equal footing with their concerns.
The City Council unanimously approved the settlement Friday after adding the matter to its agenda for a closed session
I'm sure....Probably within minutes. I'll bet that was the easiest settlement Benjamin Crump ever won!
The same city council that is allowing lawless autonomous zones. It's amazing that they didn't just gift wrap the city and hand it over to Crump.
No kidding! And that shit took less than a year. 9 months from filing to settlement for $27 million. I'm guessing the firm will get about a third of that plus expenses. Nice.
Or, the city could modified or recreate its policing fundamentals! Why are you 'disturbed' by the payout? Why do you apparently approve of the Floyd outcome? Please be clear, if you choose to respond.
$27 million? For that guy? That's pretty good lawyering.
Most people feel you can't put a price on a human life, but courts do exactly that every day.
I know this sounds cold, but there are pretty standard considerations that go into the calculations for wrongful death damages. Some of it is for vague things like loss of consortium, but much of it is about how much money that person might have provided for the family had he lived.
I know people don't like to hear this, but George Floyd was a criminal. He served eight jail terms, including four years in prison for aggravated robbery. I don't think the people he left behind were counting on him for millions of dollars.
I'm guessing the bulk of this settlement would be to cover some kind of punitive damage if the case had gone to trial, presumably for violating his civil rights under section 1983. But you can't just say "violating the 4th amendment is worth 27 million dollars." You have to show actual damages. The Supreme Court has generally capped punitive damages at about 9 times regular nominal damages. So, would a court have found damages in the amount of at least $3 million?
Furthermore, what really sucks about all these cases is who pays versus who negotiates. Do you think the mayor, or the police chief, or the commissioner, or the city council will pay this $27 million? Of course not! It will be the good taxpaying citizens of Minneapolis who didn't do anything to George Floyd.
Damn good if it's lawyering - the trial has yet to begin. It is a murder trial, not manslaughter - that means you have to prove intent! I don't think there was much lawyering. I think the city council was more than willing.
So, would a court have found damages in the amount of at least $3 million?
If Chauvin was acquitted the answer would be no.
I think this is probably more of a negligence case, so I don't think you need to get into whether or not the cop intended to kill Floyd. He clearly intended to keep his knee on him for 8+ minutes, and just as clearly didn't care about his health or his 4th Amendment rights against an unreasonable seizure.
Of course, for a civil case like this, the standard would be "preponderance of the evidence." Courts officially don't put numbers to standards of proof, but this standard is usually thought of as basically 50%+1. It's not actually that hard of a standard to overcome. It's not nearly as hard as a criminal trial, for example.
And there is no way, the Floyd family wasn't going to win at trial. The question is how much the award was going to be. Apparently, the city's lawyers assumed it would be something close to this amount minus whatever they would have to spend contesting the case.
You are confusing a wrongful death claim, which is a civil action for monetary damages brought on behalf of the heirs of the decedent (George Floyd), with a criminal prosecution, such as murder, brought on behalf of the people of the state. They are two separate legal proceedings. The city settled with the heirs for wrongful death. The criminal trial is just beginning. Furthermore, you do not have to prove intent to prevail in a wrongful death claim.
Again, you are confused. O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder, but in the subsequent civil trial for wrongful death, the jury awarded the heirs $33.5 million. The fact that one claim was against the city and one was against an individual makes no difference.
Are you under the impression that if Chauvin is acquitted the heirs have to give the money back to the city?
Then, the taxpayers should get busy with modifying or recreating policing fundamentals in the city! If only to save payouts for incompetent policing that does not protect and serve. Develop policing that is not a simile for fear, dread, and street justice.
As to Mr. Floyd's life-worth. . . how much would you approximate it is worth (since you when there)? A 'ball-park' round number (without cents) will do.
From what I have seen, looking at several cases, I would guess that in most cases where cops actually kill someone, the settlement is somewhere from maybe a little less than a million to a few million.
For a career criminal, I would expect a very low figure. That's just how it is, but sometimes you get these weird outliers. $27 million seems like a lot, all things considered.
There have been some other big settlements. Like Breonna Taylor. She had a good job as an ER tech, was young, and had no criminal record that I know of. Breonna Taylor's family got $12 million because police decided to paint her place with bullets for the apparent crime of sleeping while black. That's a lot, but the Floyd settlement is more than twice that.
It probably helps that these cases got a lot of media play. Less famously, Ernesto Duenez was shot 11 times by cops. He was wanted on a parole violation and was shot getting out of his car while allegedly holding a knife. Oddly, a knife was later found in the truck, but not on the ground or on his person like you would expect if he had been holding it (as if even that was justification for shooting him). The settlement was only a little over $2 million.
Cleveland paid the family of 12 tear-old Tamir Rice $6 million for shooting a kid playing with a toy gun. Another famous case, but not as big a settlement. A kid without a criminal record and with a full life in front of him. His family gets $6 million, but the Floyd family gets $27 million?
There is still some question over how much the cops are directly responsible for Floyd's death, as an allegedly fatal amount of fentanyl was found in his body. Contrast that with Taylor, Duenez, or Rice. There is no question who is responsible for putting bullets into those people.
***
As I indicated above, the award or settlement is usually based on what a person might be expected to earn in a likely future. Thus, more educated people are worth more than less educated. Younger people have greater earnings potential than older. Healthy people are worth more than the chronically ill. Movie stars are worth more than moviegoers. And so on.
Professional athletes are worth far more than us mere mortals.
About five years ago, NBA guard Thabo Sefolosha was involved in an incident at a nightclub in New York City. He was not the primary focus of the police response, but he was ultimately charged (but acquitted) of interfering with them. In the tussle, police broke his leg.
Mind you: they didn't kill him. They broke his leg. He's fine now.
Well, NBA legs are worth more than yours or mine, and apparently they're worth more than the whole lives of some people, because Sefolosha settled for over $4 million. To his credit, he donated it to charity.
Very well written, Tacos! Just so you know, I know this about court awards. Still, it is really excellent work you've given us here.
Now to the task. The settlements are likely, mind you I say, "likely," negotiations that hold distinct scrimmage lines of demarcation based upon location, ability to pay, injury, and what it would cost to proceed to a larger legal venue. In my opinion.
There is no standard fix to the cost of a life, Tacos! What I think happens is sides talk (that is, lawyers), a quantitative value is 'arrived' at - consented to - and set and delivered.
We have fifty states and a myriad of cities all being individually administrated. Thus, the inequities one will find in the settlement decision-making processes, plural.
Incidentally, the same thing happens in policing. Locales set their Police departments policies. Therefore, local government is the responsible party when a wrong is done and the city is obligated to make the injured whole or remedied.
Fifty states policing and a myriad of police departments operating as individual entities, causes a 'hodge-podge' mix of unstandard payouts.
In my opinion.
I'm sure that's true.
What I find depressing is that all these payouts seem to have no impact on the problem. Nothing compels governments and police departments to actually change policing procedures, hiring criteria, and training.
And why could you suppose that is so? Here is were politics enters the frame. . . stated "champions" of those who wield the power to carry and shoot write long treatises decrying a slippery slope of crime and suffering if any law enforcement status quo is giving a 're-do.'
Therefore, the only viable recourse (that can eventually get their attention) is to keep sticking it to them financially. Sadly, one unfortunate death at a time!
It's politics. Democratic politicians rewards democratic trial lawyers who reward democratic politicians.
The city of Minneapolis settled with the family of Justine Damond for $20 million in 2019. Here is a list of settlements dating back to 2003.
WAsn't she the young woman that was shot by a cop? For no good reason?
Yes, she is.
You know who won't have a problem with that settlement because she's white. And the cop that shot her was black
I guess they have a lot of spare cash laying around.
I believe that Minneapolis is self-insured so the number of settlements will be a drain on their finances.
It's only the tip of the iceberg, the ''hidden costs'' of police brutality settlements country-wide is a disaster.
Apparently lawsuits aren't motivating anybody to actually change anything. Seems like we need something more.
It will do its work over time. Financial "hemorrhaging'" over time is equally impactful as bleeding out immediately!
UPDATE:
MINNEAPOLIS—The lawyer for the former officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd asked the judge to delay the trial and consider a change of venue in the wake of a $27 million settlement by the city of Minneapolis with the family of Mr. Floyd.