Plaintiffs argued officers' actions amounted to "violent suppression of free speech."
The group filed a class action lawsuit against the city, claiming that their First Amendment rights had been violated by the Denver Police Department when they were arrested for violating an emergency curfew put in place by officials to prevent the situation from getting out of hand.
According to CBS Colorado, it was alleged that Denver "used its militarized police force to unlawfully arrest" the demonstrators, with officers' actions amounting to "violent suppression of free speech."
Internal DPD text messages purported to show that the police were only applying the curfew to BLM protestors, however, the City Attorney's Office has denied the allegations, claiming that the order was not "unconstitutionally enforced."
Nonetheless, plaintiffs and their lawyers were able to prevent the city from "enacting any curfew enforced against those engaged in protest activity in the future." Lead attorney Elizabeth Wang deemed it "a win that will protect free speech in Denver for the years to come."
As the New York Times reports, the City Attorney's Office announced earlier this year that cases brought against 320 protestors who were arrested for violating the curfew order would be dismissed, but only if they had not committed any other crimes during the demonstrations.
The settlement, which still has to be approved by the court, is the third major payout presented to BLM protestors in Denver. In 2022, 12 people were awarded $14 million after a jury determined that police had used excessive force while dealing with the crowds. Earlier this year, a $1.6 million settlement was reached with seven injured protestors.
The city has appealed the former ruling in federal court, arguing that those who took part in the demonstrations were, themselves, engaging in violence, and had to be stopped with force.
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