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Jury Awards $14 Million to Protesters Injured by Denver Cops

The eight-person jury found the city did not properly train and supervise its officers.

A federal jury has awarded 12 Denver protesters $14 million after finding that the city's police officers violated their constitutional rights during the massive 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd. The eight-person jury found the City of Denver did not properly train and supervise its officers, who, among other things, fractured one protester’s skull with a less-than-lethal projectile and injured another by deploying pepper spray into their eyes at close range, The Denver Post reported. More than 70 police officers were also injured during the protests, but none of the dozen protesters who brought the suit were engaged in any violent behavior that necessitated the use of force, according to their lawyers. In the aftermath, three cops were disciplined for using excessive force. The city’s attorneys conceded that mistakes were made, but that “mistakes do not equal constitutional violations.”