NYC Will Pay $13M To Arrested George Floyd Protesters

NEW YORK CITY — New York City will shell out $13 million to protesters who were arrested by NYPD officers during the 2020 demonstrations over the murder of George Floyd.

Nearly 1,400 people arrested in the protests can receive at least $9,950 under an historic settlement to a class action lawsuit unveiled late Wednesday in a Manhattan federal court.

The settlement — covers 18 protests across the city between May 28, 2020, and June 4, 2020 — pointedly doesn't include an admission of wrongdoing for the NYPD's widely criticized and often brutal response to the protests.

But many of the suit's plaintiffs and attorneys cast the settlement as the smoke from the fires of police brutality. One plaintiff, Adama Sow, recounted how their group of marchers was trapped by police without warning, arrested and held in a sweltering correctional bus for hours as their hands turned purple from zip tie cuffs.

"It was so disorganized, but so intentional," Sow said. "They seemed set on traumatizing everyone."

The tense few weeks after the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin left a lasting mark on New York City.

Chaotic scenes of looting in Manhattan and burning police cars in Brooklyn in the days after Floyd's death gripped much of national attention, but most of the subsequent protests were comparatively peaceful.

Indeed, many protesters viewed the NYPD as the true threat to order, as officers "kettled" demonstrators on bridges, rammed them with cop cars, shoved them with impunity and more.

After the protests, state Attorney General Letitia James sued the city over the NYPD's response, a lengthy city Department of Investigation probe faulted police and top cops for their response and more than 100 officers were found guilty of misconduct.

A spokesperson for the city's law department said the NYPD has improved numerous practices to address the challenges faced at the protests.

"This settlement was in the best interests of all parties," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.