On Monday, the city council of Denver, Colorado, unanimously approved a $4.72 million settlement that covers over 300 protesters in the movement for Black lives who were arrested by Denver police in the summer of 2020.
“Tens of thousands of activists took to the streets of Denver to demand justice for Black lives and faced a massive, militarized response,” Z Williams, director of client support and operations at Denver-based Bread and Roses Legal Center, told Truthout. “I am glad to see this settlement, but it is a fraction of the actual damage the Denver Police Department [DPD] inflicted on our community.”
Attorneys for the protesters planned to argue that city officials selectively enforced the city’s emergency curfew against demonstrators, although the curfew was ostensibly applicable to anyone who was outside after 8:00 pm. Instead of handing out tickets for curfew violations, police detained and arrested protesters— some for more than two days.
“Over 300 people were arrested for the simple act of protesting. The U.S. Constitution does not allow police to clear the streets of protesters simply because they do not agree with their message,” Elizabeth Wang, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told CBS News.
Texts messages among DPD leadership show that police planned to selectively enforce the curfew against protesters, in violation of protesters’ freedom of expression rights under the First Amendment and their equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment.
“Denver used its militarized police force to unlawfully arrest over 300 people for protesting the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor,” Claire Sannier, one of the protesters who was arrested and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, told CBS News. “The city has agreed to pay for this one instance of violent suppression of free speech, while they continue to brutalize and imprison people every day. Our message is that Black Lives Matter is as necessary now as it was in 2020.”
In addition to compensation to the protesters, the settlement “prevents the city from enacting any curfew enforced against those engaged in protest activity in the future,” Wang said.
“The city has agreed to pay for this one instance of violent suppression of free speech, while they continue to brutalize and imprison people every day,” Sannier said in a statement. “Our message is that Black Lives Matter is as necessary now as it was in 2020.”
This settlement is only the most recent payout to protesters in the movement for Black lives who were mistreated by Denver police during the 2020 uprisings. In March 2022, a jury awarded $14 million to 12 protesters represented by the American Civil Liberties Union who were injured by police — a decision that the city is currently appealing in federal court. Earlier this year, Denver City Council agreed to a $1.6 million settlement with seven protesters who were brutalized by police.
“I’m proud of our community for mobilizing and keeping this struggle alive,” Williams told Truthout. “It is also important to remember that our legal system is often permissive and encourages state violence. Justice and freedom will never come from lawsuits or legal action, but from communities.”
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