New York City has agreed to pay thousands of dollars to several hundred protesters who say they were penned in by police, a tactic known as "kettling," during racial justice protests in 2020, court documents show.
Some 300 people are in line to receive $21,500 each if a judge approves the proposed settlement that will end a class action lawsuit brought by five demonstrators.
The sum is believed to be the highest ever paid to individuals in the United States relating to mass arrests and could end up costing the city around $6 million.
The lawsuit, filed in October 2020, accused New York police of a "brutal response" to the demonstrations that followed the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
The suit specifically relates to the arrest of 300 people in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx on June 4, 2020.
The protest was one of numerous demonstrations that swept America and the world following the death of Floyd, an African American man, in May of that year.
The lawsuit alleged that officers penned in the peaceful protesters and prevented them from leaving, a police tactic known as "kettling."
Plaintiffs said officers pepper-sprayed the demonstrators and swung at them with batons. Some protesters lost consciousness and "went into convulsions," according to the suit.
Those arrested were then placed in tight, plastic handcuffs known as "zip ties," which "caused pain, bruising and, in some cases, led to long-term injury," the suit added.
The heavy-handed tactics caused an outcry at the time but were defended by then-mayor Bill de Blasio, who had enforced an 8:00 pm curfew to try to quell some disturbances.
A New York Police Department spokesperson said it had been "a challenging moment" for officers who were "suffering under the strains of a global pandemic" while "addressing acts of lawlessness including wide-scale rioting, mass chaos, violence, and destruction."
"The NYPD remains committed to continually improving its practices in every way possible," the spokesperson added in a statement.
