Denver City Council approved a $2.5 million police misconduct settlement with 13 George Floyd protesters.
The 13 defendants protested in May and June 2020 against the police murder of George Floyd. The lawsuit initially accused both the Aurora and the Denver police of inappropriately using less-lethal weapons — including tear gas, bean-bag rounds, projectiles and explosive devices — in ways that injured the plaintiffs. A judge dropped Aurora from the case.
The plaintiffs said they suffered from concussions, ruptured ear drums, nausea, hearing loss, headaches and facial swelling, among other issues.
Their attorneys argued the less-lethal weapons were used to “seize” the protesters, using physical control and restricting their freedom of movement in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The lawsuit also claimed police retaliated against the message of the demonstrations, violating the First Amendment. The complaint, filed in 2022, also accused the department of failure to adequately train officers in the use of less-lethal weapons and to adequately discipline officers for excessive force.
The case was set for a jury trial earlier this month. The settlement ends the legal fight.
The City Attorney’s Office, the Denver Police Department and Loevy and Loevy, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, declined to specifically comment on the case.
Since 2020, the Denver Police Department has made some reforms in how it manages crowds.
A spokesperson for the department says since 2020, the department “continues to ensure our officers have the best practices, tools and training when managing large crowds.”
The department has:
- Quit using 40mm less-lethal equipment for crowd control
- Changed how officers can use pepper balls
- Offered more training on how to use less-lethal weapons
- And given officers more training in crowd control tactics.
This is just the latest Denver payout over the George Floyd protests.
Other cases have resulted in settlements and judgments against the Denver Police Department.
In March 2022, a jury awarded twelve protesters $14 million in damages over how the department deployed tear gas, pepper balls and other less-lethal weapons against peaceful protesters. The city is appealing that case.
More broadly, the city has paid out more than $30 million in settlements and cases to the Denver Police Department since 2020, according to the City Attorney’s Office. That figure includes cases not related to the 2020 protests.
- 2020: $481,000
- 2021: $1.9 million
- 2022: $3.5 million
- 2023: $19 million
- 2024: $5 million
- 2025: $3.5 million
Settlements are an option often used to avoid a trial that attorneys believe they cannot win or that would be too expensive to litigate.
