Cincinnati city council has officially signed off on an $8 million settlement that stems from the arrests made during protests across the city in 2020.It came after lengthy discussions over the last several days. The settlement includes changes at the city’s police department, in addition to a payout for hundreds of people.Hamilton County will pay $65,000 of the settlement amount and the city of Cincinnati will pay the remainder, using judgment bonds.Most of that money will go to more than 400 people who joined the lawsuit, many of which were arrested during protests over the death of George Floyd in 2020.Most of those people were charged with violating the city’s curfew that was put in place after some protestors caused property damages. Those charges were dropped about a year later, kicking off this lawsuit in which plaintiffs say their constitutional rights were violated.“I believe that Cincinnati police did an outstanding job with the factors that they were presented with,” councilmember Scotty Johnson said. “They had to establish law and order, and that’s what they did, along with keeping citizens, businesses and even the protesters safe.”Of the $8.1 million, $2 million will go to attorney fees and the remaining $6 million will be split between 479 people on the lawsuit, though not everyone will get the same amount. “It would probably be an average of around $10,500 as a base number, but that could change depending on the number of people and the number of responses,” Jacqueline Greene with Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein law firm said.Johnson added that the majority of people on the lawsuit are not Cincinnati residents. The settlement still needs to be agreed upon in court.
Cincinnati city council has officially signed off on an $8 million settlement that stems from the arrests made during protests across the city in 2020.
It came after lengthy discussions over the last several days. The settlement includes changes at the city’s police department, in addition to a payout for hundreds of people.
Hamilton County will pay $65,000 of the settlement amount and the city of Cincinnati will pay the remainder, using judgment bonds.
Most of that money will go to more than 400 people who joined the lawsuit, many of which were arrested during protests over the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Most of those people were charged with violating the city’s curfew that was put in place after some protestors caused property damages. Those charges were dropped about a year later, kicking off this lawsuit in which plaintiffs say their constitutional rights were violated.
“I believe that Cincinnati police did an outstanding job with the factors that they were presented with,” councilmember Scotty Johnson said. “They had to establish law and order, and that’s what they did, along with keeping citizens, businesses and even the protesters safe.”
Of the $8.1 million, $2 million will go to attorney fees and the remaining $6 million will be split between 479 people on the lawsuit, though not everyone will get the same amount.
“It would probably be an average of around $10,500 as a base number, but that could change depending on the number of people and the number of responses,” Jacqueline Greene with Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein law firm said.
Johnson added that the majority of people on the lawsuit are not Cincinnati residents. The settlement still needs to be agreed upon in court.
