Jury Awards $14 Million to Denver Demonstrators Injured in 2020 Protests

A federal jury awarded $14 million in damages to 12 protestors who were injured by police officers in Denver during the 2020 protests, according to court documents. It’s the first excessive force and civil rights trial coming out of the demonstrations over George Floyd’s death.

The plaintiffs said they were hit with pepper spray, bean bags, and more during several days of protests in the downtown area. The lawsuit states that their First Amendment rights to demonstrate were violated because of officers’ unreasonable force and use of “less lethal” ammunition. The plaintiffs also alleged Fourth Amendment violations in using excessive force, with officers firing munitions often without warning at sensitive parts of their bodies, including their heads.

The jury deliberated for nearly five hours, and the documents show they finally decided that the response of Denver police during the protests in May and June 2020 violated these protestors’ constitutional rights.

The city and county of Denver and Jonathan Christian, a police officer during the protests, were the defendants in the lawsuit.

Court documents state that Christian must directly pay $250,000 to protestor Elisabeth Epps, who alleged the officer shot her. According to The Denver Gazette, Christian acknowledged that he fired a pepper ball at Epps but disputed whether or not it actually hit her.

The jury ultimately ruled in favor of all 12 plaintiffs to varying degrees: Nine of them received $1 million in compensatory damages, one was awarded $3 million, and another $750,000. Epps was additionally awarded $1 million in compensatory damages along with the $250,000 in punitive damages for her claim against Christian.

Following the jury’s decision, the city and county of Denver said that the city wasn’t fully prepared for the “unprecedented” protests.

“Unfortunately, Denver Police Department officers and other law enforcement officers responding to assist encountered extreme destructive behavior from some agitators among largely peaceful protestors,” reads a statement to CNN. “We recognize that some mistakes were made.”

The statement adds, “Based upon what we have learned, we have made specific changes to how the Police Department will respond if protests erupt in violence in the future, and those changes were being implemented prior to any litigation.”

Epps spoke out to Denver7 after the decision, saying simply “We won,” while recognizing that there is still more work to do.

“We haven’t ended police brutality today, but we’ve sent a very clear message … The jury sent a very clear message to the city that we love—that this behavior is unacceptable,” Epps says.

Another plaintiff, Claire Sannier, says that while this is “certainly a step,” verdicts and convictions don’t bring justice.

“They’re all part of this brutal system,” Sannier says. “And until we see these systems dismantled, we’re not going to see justice or safe communities in the United States.”