Black Lives Matter Protester Arrest Settlement Gets Initial OK

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A Louisiana federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement over allegations law enforcement agencies violated the constitutional rights of nearly 80 protesters who were arrested in Baton Rouge.

Nearly 200 people were arrested in Louisiana’s capital during a peaceful protest of the police shooting that killed 37-year-old Alton Sterling on July 5, 2016. The protests in Baton Rouge occurred from July 6 to July 11, 2016.

Sterling, a black man, was reportedly shot and killed by a white police officer during a struggle outside a convenience store. Sterling was selling homemade CDs outside the convenience store when the officers were dispatched to the store to investigate a report about a man with a gun allegedly spotted in the area.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Sterling failed to comply with the officers’ commands to put his hands on the hood of a car, and the officers subsequently wrestled him to the ground. One of the officers, Blane Salamoni, reportedly shot Sterling six times after shouting that Sterling was reaching for a gun. Officers later retrieved a loaded gun from Sterling’s pocket, according to reports.

Earlier this month, the DOJ announced it would not file criminal charges against the two police officers who were involved in the altercation with Sterling. The Louisiana Attorney General’s office has not yet determined whether state charges will be filed.

Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson together with plaintiffs Kira Marrero and Gloria La Riva filed the class action lawsuit on Aug. 4, 2016, alleging certain Louisiana law enforcement agencies and personnel violated the civil rights of protesters, who they claim were wrongfully arrested and charged with Simple Obstruction of a Highway of Commerce.

The plaintiffs claim the arrests of the protesters were made after the highways were closed by the city, and that there was therefore “no practical violation” of the obstruction of highway statute.

Class Members of the proposed civil rights settlement include: “All persons arrested in connection with protests in Baton Rouge, Louisiana between July 6, 2016 and July 11, 2016 for the single charge of Simple Obstruction of a Highway pursuant to La. R.S. 14:97, who were not charged with any additional legal violation, and who had no outstanding warrants,” except those who file a timely and valid exclusion request.

Class Members who file valid and timely claims would be eligible to receive payments of between $500 and $1,000, depending on the number of days they were incarcerated for the Simple Obstruction of a Highway of Commerce charge.

The proposed class action settlement will also allow for Class Members’ criminal records from the arrest to be expunged.

The final approval hearing for the class action settlement has been scheduled for Sept. 21, 2017.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the green “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiffs are represented by John K. Etter and Roy J. Rodney Jr. of Rodney & Etter LLC.

The Louisiana BLM Protestor Arrests Class Action Lawsuit is DeRay McKesson, et al. v. City of Baton Rouge, et al., Case No. 3:16-cv-00520-JWD-EWD, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.