Minneapolis settles on Sh 2.8 billion compensation with George Floyd’s family
Minneapolis city and the family of George Floyd have settled on a $27million (Sh2.8b) compensation over his death in May last year.
According to the Minneapolis council, part of this settlement($500,000[52.5m]) will go to the neighbourhood where Floyd was arrested, before he faced his death under the police.
George Floyd, an unarmed black American died after he was suffocated by a police officer Derek Chauvin, an incident that sparked protests worldwide.
The case against officer Chauvin and his colleagues is on going with the jury selection underway.
The family of Floyd moved to the court to seek civil rights against the city of Minneapolis as Chauvin and his colleagues faced murder charges.
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The settlement is a major win even as the criminal charges against officer Chauvin go on.
One of the lawyers representing George Floyd's family Ben Crump said the agreement could set an example for other communities, the New York Times report.
“After the eyes of the world rested on Minneapolis in its darkest hour, now the city can be a beacon of hope and light and change for cities across America and across the globe,” said Ben Crump.
George Floyd's family moved to the court in July last year to sue Minneapolis as the responsible party for the actions of the Minneapolis Police Department. They argued that their kin's death could have been avoided if the city acted responsibly in proper policing.
In the suit, the family alleged that police denied Floyd of his constitutional rights after officer Chauvin restrained him assted by three others: Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao. The other three officers, Lane, Kueng and Thao were charged with aiding and abetting manslaughter and second-degree murder.
The trial and prosecution of the officers involved in George Floyd's death has been described by legal minds as complicated given the worldwide attention that the death attracted.
