SEATTLE — Following a $10 million settlement agreement between the City of Seattle and injured protesters from 2020, local activists are hoping change is on the way.
Money from this settlement is going to about 50 people who say they were injured by overly aggressive police tactics during the George Floyd murder protests. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say police used violent tactics that caused them to suffer broken bones, concussions, emotional damage and even a heart attack.
One person who has helped lead the recent protests calling for a ceasefire in Palestine said he was not familiar with the settlement, but said he thinks it did not come out of good faith in honoring free speech.
“I think it is an attempt by the city to find a new approach to silence our protesters,” said Hossam Nasr, who is with the Palestine Youth Movement.
The city is not admitting wrongdoing. City Attorney Ann Davison said the settlement was the best financial decision for the city, rather than going to trial.
Activist Larry Gossett, who led civil rights protests starting in the 1960's in Seattle and went on to be a long-serving King County Council member said, he thinks the settlement is notable.
“I'm hopeful that the $10 million that Seattle agreed to will be a stepping stone toward the police figuring out more creative ways that they can respond to citizens exercising their First Amendment rights,” said Gossett.
Although he is hopeful, he said police relations with the community, and specifically the Black community, still need to be improved.
“The police need to be more self-critical and objective about their relations particularly with political protesters, to exercise their First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and march in the streets of Seattle,” said Gossett.
While the city is not directly taking accountability for wrongdoing, Gossett thinks this settlement is one step in the right direction of upholding the right to safely protest.
“It’s about time for some accountability as it relates to police treatment of citizens exercising their right to protest what they perceive to be injustices,” said Gossett.
The ACLU of Washington sent the following statement from Enoka Herat, their Policing and Immigration Policy Program Director, in response to the settlement:
“This settlement is another reminder, along with our 2020 lawsuit on behalf of Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County against the City for use of force against protestors, that protecting the right to protest and the safety of protestors is a responsibility of paramount importance. We are troubled by the apparent pattern of Seattle Police Department using excessive force against people protesting police brutality. SPD and the City must change its policies and practices to protect the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, as well as the safety of protestors, rather than using force to silence and dehumanize those who criticize them.”
KING 5 reached out to the Seattle Police Department to see if they had plans to change policies regarding protest response and did not hear back.
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