G20 Protesters Take Note: D.C. agrees to $13.7 million settlement in 2000 mass arrest
July 4, 2010 | 
Author 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.
Related posts:
Posted in Posts | 
Tags: Amendment, arrest, Auto, brian becker, Draft, international monetary fund, maria glod, mass, partnership for civil justice, police