US: George Floyd family, city agree to $27M settlement

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The family of George Floyd and the US city of Minneapolis have agreed Friday to a $27 million settlement to end a lawsuit against the city over his fatal arrest.

Ben Crump, the Floyd family's attorney, hailed the agreement as the "largest pre-trial settlement in a civil rights wrongful death case in U.S. history."

It "makes a statement that George Floyd's life mattered and by extension that Black lives matter," he said in a statement. "It sends a message that the unjust taking of a Black life will no longer be written off as trivial, unimportant, or unworthy of consequences."

Floyd's death in May 2020 prompted widespread calls for justice and renewed fervor and unrest regarding police-involved killings of Black men in the US.

"I can't breathe," his dying words, became a rallying cry for worldwide protests.

Former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, is accused of killing Floyd during the fatal arrest. Disturbing bystander and police video shows Floyd pinned to the ground in handcuffs by Chauvin, his neck compressed by the officer's knee for nearly nine minutes.

Floyd pleaded with the since-fired officer, telling him he cannot breathe, calling out to his mother and saying "everything hurts" with some of his final words before he appeared to lose consciousness. The officer continued to hold the position on Floyd's neck.

The city of Minneapolis has since banned police from using chokeholds and neck restraints.