A jury found that Denver police violated constitutional rights and used excessive force against protesters during the demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd in 2020. The city will now pay $14 million in damages to the 12 people who sued, according to the Associated Press.
Weeks ago, participants in the George Floyd protests filed a lawsuit against the city of Denver saying that police targeted peaceful protesters with pepper spray, pepper balls and foam balls because they did not like that the protesters were being critical of police.
The jury, which was mostly white and consisted of two men and six women, came back with a verdict after four hours of deliberation, three weeks of testimony and video evidence, according to the Associated Press.
The protestor who received the largest amount was Zach Packard, who was awarded $3 million for being hit in the head by a shotgun blast and ended up in the intensive care unit.
From the Associated Press:
The protesters said the actions of police violated their free speech rights and rights to be protected from unreasonable force. Jurors found violations of both rights for 11 of the protesters and only free speech violations for the other. The protesters claimed Denver was liable for the police’s actions through its policies, including giving officers wide discretion in using what police call “less lethal” devices, failing to train officers on them, and not requiring them to use their body-worn cameras during the protests to deter indiscriminate uses of force.
During the trial, Denver admitted that mistakes were made at the protests, which it says were unprecedented in their size, duration and amount of violence and destruction. Over 80 officers were injured as protesters hurled rocks, water bottles and canned food at them, and the state Capitol, the hub of the protests, incurred $1.1 million in damage, according to the city. Lawyers for the protesters who sued stressed they were not accused of being violent themselves.
This case is the first of many lawsuits filed in the last couple of weeks against police for using excessive force against citizens.
Timothy Macdonald, a lawyer for one of the protestors said, “Hopefully, what police departments will take from this is a jury of regular citizens takes these rights very seriously,” according to the Associated Press.