New York City has agreed to dish out millions of dollars to protesters who were arrested or assaulted—sometimes beaten with batons and pepper-sprayed—by police during anti-racism demonstrations in 2020. On Wednesday, the city settled a civil rights lawsuit filed in the Federal District Court in Manhattan by nearly 1,300 people for $13 million, with each recipient being given about $10,000. During the summer of 2020, more than 10,000 protesters were arrested as demonstrations swept across the country after the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. At the time, New York City put qualified immunity in place to protect police officers from being sued while on duty. “It was so disorganized, but so intentional,” said a plaintiff listed in the lawsuit. “They seemed set on traumatizing everyone.”
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