New York City has agreed to pay millions to Black Lives Matter protesters as part of a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by those arrested in a demonstration.
The suit claimed police surrounded, pepper sprayed, and zip-tied some 300 protesters in June 2020 in the Bronx.
The lawsuit accused the NYPD of “violations of their rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments.”
According to the filing, City Hall would pay each of the hundreds of protesters $21,500 if the settlement is approved by a judge. Then another $2,500 would be awarded to those plaintiffs who were given “Desk Appearance Tickets.”
These require an individual to appear in court at a specific date and time to respond to criminal accusations.
Not only does BLM destroy cities, they get cities to pay them to do it.
NYC is proposing $21,000 to each rioter allegedly mistreated by police during the George Floyd riots.
The rioters caused millions in property damage.
Estimated settlement total is 4-6 million. Good job NY. pic.twitter.com/beIpspucDv
— Armstrong Williams 🇺🇸 (@Arightside) March 2, 2023
The proposed settlement is estimated to carry a price tag of between $4 million and $6 million for the city. Of the 300 people who participated in the 2020 demonstration, roughly 90 have settled with the city out of court.
It specifically targets “individuals who were detained, arrested, and/or subjected to force by police officers on June 4, 2020…during the ‘George Floyd protest’ in Mott Haven.”
The protests came in the aftermath of the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis by police officers. New York police responded when hundreds violated the city’s curfew that was initiated to clamp down on sometimes violent protests.
Left-wing members of the New York City Council have been diligently working to defund the NYPD. Recently the body’s Progressive Caucus vowed to “do everything we can to reduce the size and scope of the NYPD.”
This, however, is not a popular position for most of the city’s residents. New York has seen a recent spike in violent crime, and the New York Post reported a 14.9% increase in felony assaults in January over the same month in 2022.
Still, liberal leaders want to strip funding from those who protect and serve. There is some dissension in their ranks as 15 Democratic members refused to sign on to the defund pledge.
An anonymous Democratic member told the New York Daily News that the misguided goal is “widely unpopular” in the city. Another told the outlet that, while progressive politicians agree in principle with removing funding, they are unwilling to “take the leap.”
