«

»

Jul 04

G20 Protesters Take Note: D.C. agrees to $13.7 million settlement in 2000 mass arrest

by Steve

By Maria Glod

A federal judge gave final approval Wednesday to a $13.7 million settlement between the District and people who were picked up in a mass arrest during a 2000 protest near the World Bank and International Monetary Fund buildings.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said the class-action lawsuit, which has wended its way through the court for about a decade, will benefit “future generations” who want to speak out and air their grievances. He said it sparked a 2004 D.C. law that set out policies for police to follow at demonstrations, including a prohibition against encircling protesters without probable cause to arrest them.

Under the settlement, each person arrested and found eligible for compensation will be awarded $18,000, and the record of that arrest will be expunged. It also requires additional training for police officers.

“It is an important settlement. It’s an historic settlement,” Friedman said. “This is a fair settlement to the plaintiffs and in the interest of the First Amendment.”

Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the nonprofit Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which represents the plaintiffs, said the case has helped change the way police respond to large-scale protests and demonstrations.

“This has been an ongoing effort to make the nation’s capital hospitable to cherished First Amendment activities,” Verheyden-Hilliard said.

Brian Becker, who was arrested April 15, 2000, along with his then-16-year-old son, recalled police in riot gear surrounding a group of marchers peacefully protesting problems in the U.S. prison system. Becker, a group organizer, said he was arrested, spent hours on a bus, and later had his right hand and left foot cuffed together.

[more...]

Related posts:

  1. Report: Toronto police rough up journalists, arrest peaceful protesters at G20
  2. Scotland Yard officers in ‘false arrest’ investigation
  3. Lawful Rebellion – BCG Birkenhead Protestors Arrest Judge Peake 2011
  4. US police arrest 50 Occupy protesters
  5. Boston police arrest 46 protesters
  6. New York police arrest 50 protesters