City of Minneapolis settles for $600K with woman who accused Chauvin, another officer of excessive force
The city of Minneapolis reached a settlement for $600,000 with a woman who accused ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and his former partner, Ellen Jensen, of using excessive force during an arrest in January of 2020.
Minneapolis City Council approved the settlement on Thursday.
$175,000 will go to Patricia Day and $425,000 will be paid to Robins Kaplan LLP for attorney fees.
“While no settlement can undo what Patty endured, we are grateful to have reached an agreement that holds the officers accountable for their actions. This case is yet another example of the critical need for justice and reform in policing,” said Katie Bennett, Robins Kaplan partner, in a prepared statement.
While KSTP reached out to the city, it declined to comment on the settlement.
As previously reported, someone called 911 to report an intoxicated person sitting in a vehicle outside his home, saying he was worried that the woman, identified as Day, would try to drive off.
According to the lawsuit, officers claimed that they ordered Day out of the vehicle, but a judge who watched the body camera video concluded that they hadn’t given Day any orders prior to pulling her out of the vehicle, the lawsuit says. Day claims that officers also never told her that she was under arrest.
Day said that Chauvin and Jensen pulled her from her vehicle and threw her onto the ground in the middle of the street, fracturing her tooth, injuring her arm and shoulder, and causing “other significant injuries.”
According to the lawsuit, Chauvin then handcuffed Day and pressed his knee into her back — similar to the restraint he used on George Floyd.
Day claims that she complained about her injuries to the officer and asked for medical attention, but none was given.
Day was charged with two counts of third-degree DWI in connection with the incident. She says that Assistant Minneapolis City Attorney Annalise Backstrom compromised for a fourth-degree DWI due to the officers’ conduct.
Backstrom is quoted in the lawsuit as saying, “I just want to make it clear that my office and myself don’t condone the way that the interaction went down in this particular case.”
As for the compromise, the lawsuit states that Backstrom said, “… which is something that we usually
never do for someone [who] tested at a point 25, but as a compromise because of how she was treated, that was the offer that was extended.”