A dozen civil rights activists who were arrested by Denver police during protests after George Floyd’s murder in 2020 were awarded $14 million by a federal judge Friday night to settle excessive force charges, Reuters reports.
The verdict was the first of the lawsuits relating to the Denver police’s response that have gone to court. The city has settled several other lawsuits filed claiming excessive force was used. Filed in June 2020, the suit prompted a judge to restrict the police’s use of non-lethal weapons like tear gas, rubber bullets and so-called “flash-bang” grenades.
Zachary Packard received three million dollars, the largest portion of this award. Packard was struck in the head by a round, believed to be a plastic bullet, which led to a broken jaw and skull, two fractured spinal discs and bleeding in his brain.