City settles with 11 protesters at G-20
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Eleven people arrested after the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh have settled their federal civil rights lawsuits against the city, but cases of 13 others remain unresolved.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania announced the settlement Tuesday, saying the 11 were among those "swept up in a mass arrest of demonstrators, observers, and passers-by" in Oakland Sept. 25, 2009.
Each of the 11 will receive $8,000 in damages and attorney's fees, the ACLU said. As part of the settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer, the plaintiffs agreed to drop claims against police officers who had been named as defendants.
"The city's settlement offer allows them to move on with their lives but will not impact the claims of the other plaintiffs," ACLU attorney Sara Rose, an ACLU attorney, said.
City solicitor Dan Regan confirmed the settlement but disputed the ACLU's assertion that the 11 had been "illegally arrested" in the Schenley Plaza area after world leaders had left the city.
"I think it's important to note that the city did not admit to any wrongdoing" in settling the cases, he said.
Ms. Rose said the 11 did not suffer lasting physical injuries, but "there were certainly instances of excessive force and being roughed up."
Thirteen other plaintiffs rejected the settlement. Their cases, which name the city as well as individual police officers as defendants, will continue.
"At this point, it looks like they'll go to trial," Ms. Rose said.
The night of Sept. 25, police ordered a crowd to leave the Schenley Plaza area, then moved in with tear gas and rubber bullets. Some of those arrested said they tried to flee, only to be trapped and arrested.
The city has settled two other G-20-related cases. It agreed to a $170,000 settlement with a Point Breeze man who claimed his kneecap was broken on Sept. 24, 2009, by out-of-town police brought in to help with summit security. It agreed to a $60,000 settlement with two University of Pittsburgh students who also claimed mistreatment by police that same day.
First Published January 11, 2012 12:00 am
