Fort Wayne pays $100K to settle lawsuit with 12 protesters

The city of Fort Wayne has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit with 12 people who claimed their constitutional rights were violated during protests two years ago, a report Tuesday said.

The city provided details of the settlement to The Journal Gazette after the newspaper requested the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The city reached the settlement with the 12 protesters and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which represented them.

The protesters alleged Fort Wayne police and other law enforcement agencies used tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators on May 29-30 and June 14-15, 2020, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Under the settlement, the city denied any liability and violation of the protesters’ rights.

The settlement is at least the second the city has reached involving lawsuits filed after the downtown protests that saw 29 arrests and more than 50 broken windows.

The city confirmed last week that it will pay $300,000 to a protester who lost an eye during the protests. Balin Brake accused city police officer Justin Holmes of firing a tear gas canister at him that caused him to lose his eye.