Minneapolis — The city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed that ex-Officer Derek Chauvin dragged her from her minivan and forced her to the ground with his knee in January 2020, precisely as he did four months later when he killed George Floyd.
Patty Day, a former Public Works Department employee, claimed in a lawsuit filed last May that she was the victim of excessive force and unjust arrest. She admitted that on the evening of January 17, 2020, she was intoxicated and depressed about her imminent divorce and other problems when she became stuck in the snow for several hours.
Chauvin and his partner for the night, Officer Ellen Jensen, ultimately arrived on the scene. The lawsuit claimed that the officers “violently yanked” Day from her vehicle and hurled her to the pavement, causing many injuries.
“Chauvin then assumed his signature pose, pressing his knee into the subdued and handcuffed Patty’s back — just as he would later do to snuff the life out of George Floyd — and remaining that way well after Patty was controlled,” the complaint said. A drunken driving prosecution was eventually withdrawn after a judge determined that the officers lacked probable cause to arrest her and suppressed the blood alcohol test results.
On Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council overwhelmingly approved the $600,000 settlement agreement. Council member LaTrisha Vetaw informed her colleagues that Day will receive $175,000, while her attorneys will receive $425,000.
The city has now paid out more than $36 million to settle police misconduct claims involving Chauvin, including $27 million to the Floyd family.
“While no settlement can undo what Patty endured, we are grateful to have reached an agreement that holds the officers accountable for their actions,” Day’s attorney, Katie Bennett, said in a statement. “This case is yet another example of the critical need for justice and reform in policing.”
Chauvin, who is white, is still jailed in a federal prison in Texas after being convicted of murdering Floyd in state court and violating Floyd’s civil rights on a federal level. The death of a Black man provoked a national debate about racial injustice.
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