George Floyd Protester Rammed By Cop Car In Park Slope Will Get $75K

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — The city will cough up a $75,000 settlement to a protester who was rammed by cops driving an NYPD cruiser through a 2020 George Floyd demonstration in Park Slope.

The settlement will close a lawsuit by Aaron Ross, one of several protesters seen in viral videos from May 30, 2020, that — to some — symbolized the pervasive police brutality that sparked the protests.

The videos show two NYPD cruisers being blocked by protesters at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and St. Marks Avenue. Many demonstrators pound on the vehicles until one suddenly accelerates and knocks down several protesters behind a barricade, the video shows.

"The police officers operating the aforementioned police vehicle
drove said vehicle into the plaintiff and other protesters intentionally, or negligently and recklessly, without justification, authorization, provocation or cause," Ross's lawsuit states.

Gothamist first reported on the settlement and a city Law Department spokesperson confirmed it to Patch.

The spokesperson declined further comment.

After the viral videos spread, Mayor Bill de Blasio took a break from praising NYPD officers' "tremendous restraint" during the protests to rebuke the cops who were behind the wheels.

De Blasio announced an investigation into the incident and said findings would come within weeks.

"There were many things done right by the NYPD," he said at the time. "There were also mistakes that must be investigated."

But NYPD officials ultimately cleared the cops. It wouldn't be until April 2022 that the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board would substantiate accusations against three cops involved, records show.

The NYPD's commissioner of trials as yet to make a decision on discipline, Gothamist first reported.