$10 Million Settlement for 50 Protesters Injured by Seattle Police During 2020 George Floyd Demonstrations
Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore secured a $10 million settlement from the City of Seattle on behalf of more than 50 protesters who were struck by blast balls, tear gas, and other crowd-control weapons deployed by Seattle Police Department officers during the May and June 2020 George Floyd demonstrations.
What happened
In late May 2020, thousands of people gathered in downtown Seattle and on Capitol Hill to protest the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Over several days, Seattle Police Department officers responded to those crowds with blast balls, pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber projectiles. More than 50 protesters filed suit against the city, alleging the force used was indiscriminate, unprovoked, and unconstitutional.
The injuries documented across the plaintiff group were severe and, in some cases, permanent. One protester suffered cardiac arrest after a blast ball struck him in the chest. Another experienced seizures and a coma after officers tackled and piled on him. A third lost part of a finger. Others sustained broken bones, concussions, permanent hearing loss, and lasting post-traumatic stress. Many plaintiffs described standing or sitting peacefully when weapons were deployed against them.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court as Case No. 20-2-14351-1, alleged that SPD officers violated departmental use-of-force policies and that city officials compounded the misconduct by deleting hundreds of text messages sent during the protest period. Plaintiffs argued the city bore direct responsibility for deploying weapons without adequate training and for failing to supervise officers in real time.
Karen Koehler and Shannon Kilpatrick of Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore led the litigation alongside a broader team of plaintiff attorneys. The city was defended by K&L Gates LLP and the Seattle City Attorney's Office.
On January 25, 2024, the City of Seattle agreed to pay $10 million to resolve the claims. City Attorney Ann Davison described the settlement as 'the best financial decision for the City considering risk, cost, and insurance.' The agreement carried no admission of wrongdoing. The settlement resolved the bulk of civil claims stemming from the 2020 protest period, one of the largest such resolutions in the city's history.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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