Tag: Minneapolis settles with Floyd family

$27M settlement coming amid Derek Chauvin trial jury selection called ‘unfortunate’ by court; day ends with 9 jurors so far

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Defense feels that announcement of the settlement during jury selection harms chance at a fair trial. 

The $27 million civil settlement the city of Minneapolis reached last week with the family of George Floyd weighed with heavily upon the ongoing jury selection in the murder trial of fired police officer Derek Chauvin, while the number of jurors chosen grew to nine by the end of proceedings Monday.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson expressed deep concern that jurors already chosen and those yet to be selected will be prejudiced should they learn of the settlement, thereby denying his client his right to a fair trial. During Friday’s proceedings, the City Council signed off on the settlement, followed by a widely publicized announcement.

Before the prospective jurors were questioned, Nelson said, “I am gravely concerned with the news that broke on Friday related to the civil settlement. … The fact that this came in the exact middle of jury selection is perplexing to me, your honor.” Continue reading.

Minneapolis reaches record $27 million settlement with George Floyd’s family

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The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved a $27 million settlement with the family of George Floyd, with $500,000 to be set aside for funding in his former community.

Why it matters: Ben Crump, the attorney for the Floyd family, called it the largest pretrial civil rights settlement ever and said in a statement that it “sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end.”

The big picture: Floyd’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis in July, accusing the officers charged in connection with his killing of “unjustified, excessive, and illegal” use of force. Continue reading.