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The vote:
At the end of April, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to give a settlement of $150,000 to Donald Williams, a man who witnessed George Floyd’s murder in May 2020. In the now famous video from fellow witness Darnella Frazier, Williams can be heard yelling at police officer Derek Chauvin to stop kneeling on Floyd’s neck and check Floyd’s pulse.
Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost ten minutes, killing him. Chauvin was sentenced to 20 years in prison for depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights.
Last year, Williams sued Minneapolis and said he’d been assaulted by Chauvin while witnessing Floyd’s murder—specifically, that Chauvin sprayed him and other bystanders with chemical spray after they tried to intervene. Williams also said the experience left him with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The backlash:
Though Floyd’s death sparked the 2020 worldwide Black Lives Matter protests, some maintain that his murder was just and that Chauvin was “wrongfully convicted.” Similarly, some feel that the settlement granted by the Minneapolis City Council to Williams is unnecessary and ridiculous.
“Minneapolis is a pathetic joke of a city,” former Donald Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis tweeted in response to the settlement.
“George [Floyd] made many people rich,” another X user wrote. In 2021, the Minneapolis City Council paid Floyd’s family a $27 million settlement in a civil lawsuit over Floyd’s murder.
Others suggested that Minneapolis should prank Williams and pay him the settlement in counterfeit bills. Floyd’s arrest—and ultimately, murder—was predicated on the counterfeit $20 bill he used to buy cigarettes.
“I’m not saying Minneapolis should pay the settlement in counterfeit $20 bills but yes, that would definitely be the funniest way of paying it,” an X user said.
And some even made fun of Williams’ PTSD from witnessing Floyd’s murder.
“I got PTSD from reading this story,” an X user wrote in response to reporting on Williams’ settlement. “Does anyone know who in Minneapolis I would contact to get my settlement?”
The background:
Despite the gravity of police brutality, not everyone takes Floyd’s murder seriously. Murals dedicated to his memory have been desecrated and racist, disrespectful artwork has been made using his image.
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