By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The city of Minneapolis on Thursday settled two lawsuits brought by Black residents involving Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, that alleged he had dealt with them similarly in the past.
Minneapolis City Council members voted on Thursday to settle the federal civil rights lawsuits filed by John Pope Jr and Zoya Code in May 2022. The lawsuits claimed racism and civil rights violations and stemmed from incidents dating back to 2017.
Pope will get $7.5 million and Code will be given about $1.4 million, according to the settlement, the details of which were released by law firm Robins Kaplan LLP, which represented the accusers.
Floyd, a Black man suspected of passing a counterfeit bill, was killed in May 2020 when Chauvin knelt on his neck for over eight minutes as three other officers watched. The incident triggered a worldwide wave of protests over racial injustice.
Pope was 14 years old in 2017 when officers were called to his home for a reported domestic disturbance. Chauvin was one of the officers who responded, and he entered Pope’s bedroom, where Pope was on his cell phone and lying face down on the floor, the lawyers said when the suit was filed.
Chauvin rushed Pope and struck him multiple times on the head with a large flashlight and pinned Pope to the floor with his knee, the lawsuit said.
In the case of Code, attorneys alleged Chauvin also used excessive force, adding he slammed her head on the ground and put his knee on the back of her neck.
Criminal charges against both Pope and Code were eventually dropped. They said they were left traumatized after Chauvin’s actions. Their lawsuits also named the city of Minneapolis as a defendant.
Chauvin was convicted of Floyd’s murder in a state trial and sentenced to 22-1/2 years. He also pleaded guilty to related federal charges and is serving a federal sentence of 21 years concurrently.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
