Denver pays $28.1M in police settlements since 2020 protests
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The Denver Police Department's conduct since the widespread protests over George Floyd's 2020 murder continues to cost the city millions of dollars.
The big picture: The city paid out its latest settlement on Monday to a trust connected to protesters Nicolas Orlin and Shawn Murphy.
- The two will receive $465,000 in damages, paid out by a liability claims fund, after they were shot in the face with rubber bullets.
- Neither was armed nor had warning, and the incident left Orlin partially blind in his left eye, per the Denver Post.
- The Denver Police Department declined to comment on the latest settlement.
Why it matters: The settlements reflect the extent of police misconduct allegations since 2020, when the Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation.
The intrigue: Councilmember Shontel Lewis, who's tracking all city settlements this year, tells us she wants to use the data to determine solutions, though what those solutions are remains to be seen.
- "It's taxpayer dollars, and I think we should have some transparency about the amount of money we're paying out," Lewis says.
- Her running total of $4 million-plus includes money paid out to other city agencies, including the Sheriff's Department, Parks & Recreation and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
By the numbers: Over the past four years, Denver has paid out a total of $28.1 million in settlements and claims related to the 2020 protests, per an analysis from Axios Denver on data provided by the City Attorney's Office.
What's next: The city this month will appeal the $14 million awarded by a federal jury to protesters in 2022 after a final judgment on the verdict was entered on Aug. 29, City Attorney Office spokesperson Melissa Sisneros tells us.
- Sisneros says the city has until Sept. 18 to file its appeal. She declined to specify what the appeal entails, saying she was "unable to comment on matters related to legal strategy."
Editor's note: The headline and story were corrected to show the $28.1 million figure includes all police misconduct settlements between 2020 and 2024 (not just protest-related payouts).