The city of Minneapolis agreed to a $1.5 million settlement with a man who was a St. Paul resident when police shot him with a marking round during the unrest after the killing of George Floyd.
Jaleel Stallings had been charged with attempted murder after firing at Minneapolis police officers in the chaotic protests that followed Floyd’s death, but the 29-year-old was acquitted of all charges against him. He argued self-defense during his July trial. He was shot from an unmarked van, by what turned out to be a 40mm marking round fired by police.
“Fearing for his life, Mr. Stallings fired toward, but not directly at, the van while he went into cover,” his attorney, Eric Rice, wrote in the federal lawsuit. “Once in cover, Mr. Stallings learned that the van contained police officers. He discarded his weapon and surrendered. Despite his surrender, officers beat him for approximately 30 seconds. Nearby officers watched and did nothing to stop the beating.”
The settlement was made public in a court filing Tuesday.
Stallings is an Army veteran who had a valid permit to carry a weapon and a Black man who sought to participate in protests over Floyd’s death by a Minneapolis officer, according to his suit against the city of Minneapolis and officers filed in October.
The rounds shot at Stallings are used to stop a suspect and identify the person for arrest by officers, Rice wrote.
In addition to the settlement, Minneapolis will pay attorney’s fees and costs in an amount to be determined by the court, according to Tuesday’s court filing.
STALLINGS: LAWSUIT WASN’T ABOUT THE MONEY
Stallings said Tuesday that the lawsuit wasn’t about money.
“What I was looking for was accountability and justice, and I still don’t feel like I received those,” he said.
He recently relocated to Texas — he said he moved because of fear of retaliation.
Deputy Minneapolis City Attorney Erik Nilsson said in a Tuesday statement that “the city hopes that an early resolution to this matter will allow all of the parties to move forward.”
VIDEO SHOWED HE WAS PUNCHED, KICKED
The case drew attention in September when an online digital news outlet, Minnesota Reformer, reported on his acquittal and examined the case in depth. The Reformer published body camera footage of his arrest that shows Minneapolis SWAT officers punching and kicking Stallings as he lay on the ground.
Stallings said that when he looks at a mugshot of himself from the time of his arrest, “clearly, you see the bruising and you can see I have a broken eye socket.”
Rice alleged in his lawsuit that on May 30, 2020, following the killing of Floyd on May 25, 2020, Minneapolis “officers engaged in a pattern of violence and malice toward protesters and civilians. … Jaleel Stallings was one victim of that operation.”
According to documents in the criminal case, when Stallings realized he had fired at police officers, he immediately put his gun on the ground and lay face-down, with his hands on the ground. A pretrial order from Hennepin County Judge William Koch said Stallings was motionless for 20 seconds and posed no obvious threat before an officer began kicking and punching Stallings in the head and neck, and a sergeant began kneeing and punching him in the stomach, chest and back.
The officers “allowed their anger and/or fear to overtake their faculties,” Koch wrote. “… The video evidence does not support their testimony Mr. Stallings was resisting arrest in any way, instead he surrendered to their authority.”
Stallings’ lawsuit claimed violations of his constitutional rights.
The city of Minneapolis denies “the validity of (Stallings’) claims and expressly deny any liability,” according to a court document.
A tentative settlement has been reached in another federal lawsuit brought in relation to the Floyd protests, according to a Tuesday note in the court file. Linda Tirado, a freelance journalist from Tennessee, was blinded by a rubber bullet while covering the protests and filed suit against the city of Minneapolis and Minneapolis officers.
Josh Verges contributed to this report.
This story contains information from the Associated Press.
