COLUMBUS — The city of Columbus has agreed to pay $5.75 million to people injured during racial injustice and police brutality protests downtown that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
John Marshall, a Columbus civil rights attorney and lead counsel on a federal lawsuit representing 32 people injured during the protests, said Thursday that a special master will determine payouts based on protesters’ individual injuries.
City officials said the case highlighted issues that started the city on the path to police reform.
“Where we have missed the mark and relationships have been damaged, we must strive to make it right. This settlement is a step toward that,” safety director Robert Clark said.
The settlement also finalizes details of a federal judge’s order earlier this year that Columbus police must stop using nonlethal force such as tear gas on nonviolent protesters who aren’t harming people or destroying property.
Marshall’s clients claimed that their constitutional rights were violated by police, who made arrests and used force, pepper spray, tear gas, wooden bullets and sponge rounds. At least three of the Plaintiffs alleged that they suffered broken bones.
As part of this settlement, the city will agree to make permanent the preliminary injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley that bars officers from using non-lethal force to clear streets and sidewalks or enforce dispersal orders “not committed with actual or imminently threatened physical harm or property destruction.”
Columbus City Council is expected to approve the settlement next week.