A jury’s decision to award George Floyd protesters $14.75 million over excessive force claims made against the Denver Police Department during 2020 protests will stand, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
In the original case, filed four years ago, a jury found police indiscriminately attacked crowds of peaceful protesters with a variety of less-lethal munitions, including flash-bang explosives, pepper balls, tear-gas grenades and more.
The case was the first to be won by protesters and preceded a string of settlements that cost the city tens of millions.
Denver appealed the case, arguing the plaintiffs lacked evidence that the city’s intentional failure to train officers had led to constitutional violations and abuses.
“We reject Denver’s arguments and uphold the jury’s verdict,” the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated in its decision. “We do so based specifically on the jury’s finding that Denver inadequately trained its officers.”
Law firm Loevy + Loevy’s Elizabeth Wang, who represented five of 12 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, celebrated the victory.
“We are pleased the appellate court affirmed the jury’s verdict, and denied Denver’s attempts to shirk responsibility for the abuses of its officers,” Wang said in a statement. “Our clients bravely stood up in the streets against police brutality in 2020, and they’ve been doing it ever since in the courts. Plaintiffs and the jury sent a strong message to the city that it needs to do a better job of training its officers in the future, to make sure this never happens again.”
The $14.75 million will be shared between plaintiffs, including Sara Fitouri, Jacquelyn Parkins, Elle (Kelsey) Taylor, Claire Sannier, and Joe Deras all represented by Wang of Loevy + Loevy. Additionally, Elisabeth Epps, Ashlee Wedgeworth, Zachary Packard, Amanda Blasingame, Maya Rothlein, Stanford Smith, and Hollis Lyman were represented by the ACLU of Colorado attorneys and the law firm of Arnold & Porter.
“The compensation for the individual plaintiffs — for their injuries, trauma, and the violations of their rights — is important,” Wang said of the ruling. “But more important is the message this sends to the City of Denver, and police forces across the country: The police cannot use excessive force against peaceful demonstrators whose message they disagree with.”
The city attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
