Radical left-wing judge John W. deGravelles awarded up to 70 Black Lives Matter protesters up to $1,000 each for excessive force during anti-police protests in 2016.
John W. deGravelles was appointed by Barack Obama.
Protest leader DeRay McKesson, who is from Baltimore but led the Louisiana protests, says the far left will use this decision to charge police departments across the nation in future lawsuits.
Soros-funded protest leader DeRay McKesson was arrested at the protests for disobeying police orders.
During the continued protests five police officers were shot by a Nation of Islam member on July 17, 2016.
The AP reported:
A federal judge approved a class-action settlement Friday that awards up to $1,000 in cash to dozens of protesters who claim police violated their civil rights and used excessive force in arresting them after a deadly police shooting.
The deal resolves one of several lawsuits against Louisiana law enforcement agencies after a white Baton Rouge police officer shot and killed Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, in July 2016. The shooting was one of several that had fueled a national debate about race and policing.
Black Lives Matter movement leader DeRay Mckesson is among 69 arrested protesters eligible for payments ranging from $500 to $1,000 now that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles has given his final approval. The judge, who said the total value of the settlement is about $136,000, ruled from the bench after a hearing that Mckesson and another plaintiff attended.
Mckesson, a 32-year-old Baltimore resident, said the settlement demonstrates courts can be effective in holding officers and city governments “accountable” for police misconduct.
“This can be a blueprint for activists and organizers and lawyers across the county to think about what remedies look like at the court level. And it’s not just money,” he said after the hearing.
The judge commended attorneys for reaching a “fair, adequate and reasonable” settlement that avoids costly, time-consuming litigation.
“It obviously is a matter that touches on a lot of sensitive issues and had the potential for being very contentious and destructive,” deGravelles said.
Eleven other arrested protesters who were eligible for payments instead opted out of the settlement. Some are seeking higher compensation for court claims they’re pursuing separately in federal court.
