Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Settles Suit Alleging Journalists Were Harassed, Hurt Covering Floyd Protests
The city of Minneapolis agreed last week to pay $950,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that journalists were subjected to police harassment and even hurt while covering protests over the police killings of George Floyd.
The suit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and pro bono attorneys, was one of several filed against law enforcement for alleged constitutional violations involving the use of force in 2020. Several journalists reported being struck by less-lethal munitions and being herded and detained while covering protests.
The lead plaintiff, Jared Goyette, said he was “shot in the face with less-lethal ballistic ammunition” by Minneapolis police while covering the protests as a freelancer for the Washington Post and the Guardian.
More protests erupted after Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by an officer in Brooklyn Center in April 2021. During the demonstrations, some officers could be seen spraying a chemical on protesters. And the ACLU added the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office to the suit then.
Now reporting in Ukraine and Croatia, Goyette said in a statement that he had hope that the case and other efforts would “lead to a future where Minneapolis law enforcement is less likely to recklessly infringe upon First Amendment rights and assault and intimidate journalists.”
The ACLU said in a news release that the award, which the city council approved on a 13-0 vote, will be divided among Goyette, seven other journalists and the media and communications labor union Communications Workers of America.
It’s just the latest settlement in the lawsuit. The former head of the Minneapolis police union, Bob Kroll, 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 alleged Kroll was an “unofficial policymaker” for the police department. Kroll retired in January 2021. He did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.
And the state of Minnesota agreed in 2022 to pay $825,000 and change several policies to settle its part in the lawsuit. That deal also prohibits the Minnesota State Patrol from attacking journalists, arresting or threatening to arrest them, ordering them to disperse, seizing their equipment and more.
But the ACLU said the city and its police department did not agree to make any reforms as part of the latest settlement.
“If it’s not clear to police yet, let’s say it again: Law enforcement cannot target, arrest, and attack journalists who are just doing their jobs, holding government accountable,” said ACLU-MN Legal Director Teresa Nelson, in a statement.
The lawsuit continues against the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and its former sheriff, Dave Hutchinson.
City spokesperson Casper Hill said the city had no comment on the litigation or settlement. The sheriff’s office, did not immediately respond to requests Thursday afternoon for comment from The Associated Press.
Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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One person is dead and eight others are hurt in a string of weekend shootings across Minneapolis.
Police say the first shooting occurred Friday around 5 p.m. near North Humboldt and 26th avenues. A man was outside of his home when shots rang out, leaving him with multiple gunshot wounds.
Around 9:35 p.m. Friday, two men were shot outside in the area of north Lowry and Logan avenues.
Just after 12:30 a.m. Saturday, a man was found shot in an alley near Mortimer’s Bar and Restaurant off South Lyndale and Franklin avenues. He told police he was outside walking when he was hit.
Just before 12:50 a.m. Saturday, police say a man outside was shot near North Penn Avenue, just north of Highway 55, by someone driving by.
Around 1:50 a.m. Saturday, a man suffering from gunshot wounds showed up at Hennepin Healthcare, with police later determining he was shot in the area of North Lyndale and 45th avenues.
Just after 3:30 a.m. Saturday, a man showed up to Children’s Minneapolis hospital with a gunshot wound he said occurred when he was asleep inside his vehicle.
On Sunday around 1 a.m., a man was found laying on the ground near Bloomington Avenue and East 24th Street. He was brought to Hennepin Healthcare where he later died. Police say investigators “located evidence of gunfire, including a firearm recovered next to the man who died.”
On Sunday just before 1:30 a.m., a 15-year-old girl was shot in the area of Hennepin and Laurel avenues in downtown. Two boys, ages 14 and 15, were soon arrested in connection to the shooting.
And just before 1:50 a.m. Sunday, a man was found shot inside a business off Northeast Lowry Avenue and Fourth Street Northeast. Investigators believe the shooting began as an altercation in the business’s parking lot.
With the exception of the shooting of the 15-year-old girl, police say no arrests have been made in any of the cases. All surviving victims have injuries described by police as non-life threatening.
Anyone with information on any of these shootings can submit an anonymous tip online to Crime Stoppers, or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
A shooting in north Minneapolis injured a man near Penn Avenue.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, officers responded to a shooting near the 700th block of Penn Avenue North, where they found a man with a gunshot wound.
Authorities said preliminary information shows that the man was outside when the shooting happened, possibly coming from a vehicle. A nearby hospital treated the man for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police are still investigating, with a forensic team collecting evidence from the scene. Officers said no arrests have been made.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
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