Minneapolis settles lawsuit alleging harassment, injury of journalists covering Floyd protests – Winnipeg Free Press

The city of Minneapolis agreed Thursday to pay $950,000 to settle claims that journalists were harassed and even injured by police while covering protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and attorneys, was one of several filed in 2020 against law enforcement agencies alleging constitutional violations related to the use of force. Several journalists reported being hit and mobbed with less-lethal ammunition. and arrested while announcing protests.

The lead plaintiff, Jared Goyett, said he was “shot and killed with non-lethal ballistic ammunition” by Minneapolis police while covering protests as a freelancer for the Washington Post and Guardian newspapers.

Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was shot and killed by an officer in downtown Brooklyn in April 2021. During the demonstrations, some officers could be seen spraying the protesters with chemical agents. The ACLU then added the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office to the suit.

Goyette, who is now reporting in Ukraine and Croatia, said in a statement that he hopes the case and other efforts “will lead to a future where Minneapolis law enforcement is less likely to recklessly violate First Amendment rights and intimidate and intimidate journalists.”

The ACLU said in a press release that the award, approved by the City Council in a 13-0 vote, will go to Goyette, seven other journalists and the Communications Workers of America media and communications union.

This is just the latest settlement in the lawsuit. Bob Kroll, the former head of the Minneapolis police union, will not be allowed to serve as a police officer in three Minnesota counties for the next decade as part of a settlement last year. The lawsuit alleges that Kroll was the police department's “unofficial politician.” Kroll retired in January 2021. He did not admit his mistakes in the settlement.