The city of Minneapolis on Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd's family over the Black man's death in police custody, even as jury selection continued in a former officer's murder trial. The Minneapolis City Council emerged from closed session to announce the record settlement, which includes $500,000 for the neighborhood where Floyd was arrested, the AP reports. Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said it was the largest pretrial civil rights settlement ever, and "sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end." Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a former officer who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for about nine minutes. Floyd's death sparked protests in Minneapolis and beyond and led to a national reckoning on racial justice.
"I hope that today will center the voices of the family and anything that they would like to share," Council President Lisa Bender said. "But I do want to, on behalf of the entire City Council, offer my deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd, his friends and all of our community who are mourning his loss." Floyd's family filed the federal civil rights lawsuit in July against the city, Chauvin, and three other officers charged in his death. It alleged that the officers violated Floyd's rights when they restrained him, and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism, and impunity to flourish in its police force. Chauvin and three other officers have been fired; the others face an August trial on aiding and abetting charges.
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