The City Council of Minneapolis has unanimously approved a settlement amount of $ 27 million to the family of George Floyd in matter of the police custody death lawsuit.

Civil rights advocate Ben Crump, who is representing Floyd’s family, tweeted saying, “This historic $27 million settlement is PROOF that Black lives will no longer be written off as trivial, unimportant, or unworthy of consequences.” He added, “Today is a watershed moment for America. History will judge us by how well we demonstrate the principle of equality, the principle of justice, and the principle of humanity. And not just by the eloquence of our words but by the power of our actions.” Crump further said, “Nothing will ever wipe out the Floyd family’s aching loss, but this settlement and the respect it shows will allow healing to begin. It will help to heal those who suffer anxiety and nightmares from watching George’s death at the hands of those who were supposed to protect him.”

George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, became a victim of police brutality on May 25, 2020, when a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinned Floyd to the ground and pressed his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck while in the process of detaining him in connection with a case involving an allegedly fake $20 bill. A video of the killing went viral where in his dying minutes Floyd could be heard repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe” and then becoming unresponsive.

Jury selection for Chauvin’s trial began on March 8, 2021 and a Hennepin County judge reinstated a count of third-degree murder on March 11, 2021. Judge Peter Cahill had dropped the charge in October 2020, saying it did not apply in the case. But in February this year, an appeals court ruling in connection with a case involving former Minneapolis Police officer Mohammed Noor, paved the way for reinstatement of the charge against Chauvin. On Thursday morning Judge Cahill accepted that the appeals court ruling set a precedent and went on to reinstate the charge.