Remembering Cleveland's George Floyd riot as his family's wrongful death lawsuit is settled for $27 million, a record breaking settlement....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's Black digital leaders
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| Protesters in Cleveland who rallied for justice for George Floyd on May 30 torched police cars as violence erupted in the largely Black major American city |
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| Thousands gather at the Free Stamp next to Cleveland City Hall in downtown Cleveland on Sat., May 30 for a rally for justice for Minneapolis police murder victim George Floyd, a rally that turned violent and erupted into riots. Photo by Tristan Rader Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS. By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief (A longtime Cleveland activist and community organizer, Coleman, also a former educator, attended the rally and march in Cleveland, Ohio on May 30 for justice for George Floyd)
CLEVELAND, Ohio-The city of Minneapolis has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of George Floyd for $27 million, the largest of its kind in U.S. history. "This is a message that the unjust taking of Black life will no longer be written off as trivial, unimportant or unworthy of consequences," attorney Ben Crump said during a news conference Friday afternoon shortly after the agreement was reached. Crump said he hopes the unprecedented pretrial agreement will push policymakers across the country to institute comprehensive policing reforms Following an arrest on a forgery charge, Floyd died on May 25 of last year after since fired Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, the arresting officer, held his knee on his neck during the arrest until he killed him, and before a crowd of people as Floyd pleaded for his life and cried out that he could not breathe. The unarmed 46-year-old Black man was pronounced dead an hour later at an area hospital. The disturbing video of the incident, taken by a bystander, has shocked the conscience. Chauvin and the other three involved officers who were on the scene but did nothing to help Floyd, nearly all of them White, were immediately fired. Chauvin has since been charged with second degree intentional murder and second degree manslaughter and is out of jail on a $1 million dollars bond, the other three former officers, some also out on bond are faces felony charges of aiding and abetting and second degree murder. All of the police officers at issue have pleaded not guilty. Chauvin's trial was set to begin Monday but has been delayed as an appeals court determine, whether a judge can add a new murder charge, a charge of third degree murder. Protests in Minneapolis ensued behind the tragic shooting death of Floyd, and spread to over 2,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, and riots subsequently broke out in Minneapolis and in cities nationwide. Black Lives Matter activists led Cleveland's protest last May 30 where protesters rioted and tore up downtown Cleveland. In Cleveland rioters torched or completely destroyed some five police cars, broke out the windows of multiple businesses, including the downtown Arcade, destroyed some downtown shelters, and threw rocks and boulders at police. They wrote messages and profanity on some government buildings, and a group of protesters clashed with police. Police shot off tear gas repeatedly, and in some instances unnecessarily, said activists. More than 100 protesters, most of them White, and young, were arrested with charges ranging from disorderly conduct to criminal damaging and aggravated rioting. There were more than 50 felony arrests and practically all of those arrested were from Ohio, mainly Cleveland and its suburbs. Cleveland's riot was something to remember. They shouted at police as some rode on horseback along the strip between City Hall and the Justice Center and the Justice Center and Public Square where more than three thousand protesters gathered. "Am I next"? a sign read that was held up by a young Black woman as police and their horses trotted through the streets. Most of the protesters were under 30 and many were White as well as Black with participants across ethic lines joining in one of at least three different marches and chanting such phrases of "No Justice No Peace," Black Lives Matter," and "Dump Trump." The rally that lead up to the riot began at 1:30 pm at the Free Stamp next to Cleveland City Hall and went on peacefully as an array of speakers took to the podium. But by the time protesters had marched from the Free Stamp to the Justice Center and settled in, some became anxious and the once peaceful event quickly turned violent. One protester wore a t-shirt that read "F--- the police." Organizers begged protesters to act right. "They expect us to misbehave," a Black Lives Matter Cleveland organizer said to no avail. Given Cleveland's history of excessive force killings against Blacks and a pending consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice for police reforms and the climate nationally relative to police brutality, the upheaval was not at all surprising, sources said, though Cleveland's Black leaders have said for years that Cleveland is a sleepy town when standing up against police brutality. The George Floyd riot in the city obviously proves otherwise. City officials say that it was a small group of agitators who precipitated the violence. Others say the unrest is deeply rooted in systemic racism and the ongoing undercurrent between police and the Black community and that it cannot be laid at the feet of protesters alone. Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS. |
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