Leaders in Minneapolis may shell out approximately $35 million in settlements for police and firefighters who left the job in a year during which riots rocked the city following the death of George Floyd.
Attorney Ron Meuser, who claims to represent around 200 public servants who walked off the job since the area was plagued with prolonged civil unrest, looting, and arson, said local government authorities have begun signing off on worker’s compensation packages that average $175,000, according to FOX 9.
Some individual payouts are larger, as one individual reportedly netted $250,000 for his or her damages, and the report says some estimates put the total figure around $35 million.
Meuser said his clients suffered physical ailments and PTSD after Minneapolis’s Third Precinct was burned to the ground. The city opted to spread the payments over a number of years to ease the financial burden.
MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS MOVE TO ABOLISH POLICE FOR SECOND TIME
“I think they felt for a long, long time that the community doesn’t want them, doesn’t respect them, and doesn’t care about them,” the lawyer said.
City officials have kept details regarding the settlements under lock and key as they contain “private information.”
“We’re pretty constrained in what we can say publicly about issues that include private information from city employees,” Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said last month.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes in late May 2020. Chauvin, 45, faces up to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers involved in the incident, which drew widespread protests and riots throughout the country, are due in court in August for another highly contentious trial.
In addition, a federal grand jury indicted all four former Minneapolis police officers over civil rights charges in Floyd’s death.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Damage from last summer’s unrest was estimated to cost over $1 billion, and officers throughout the country, many of whom were disaffected by local leaders calling for budget cuts, have turned in their badges.
The city of Minneapolis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
