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Seattle to pay WTO protesters
$1 million
Bob Young
Seattle
Times
Tuesday April 3, 2007
The city of Seattle will pay $1 million to WTO protesters who
were arrested in Westlake Park seven years ago and will clear their
records, in a settlement announced today.
The money will cover the plaintiffs' legal fees, with the rest
divided among 160 protesters, who will get roughly $3,000 to $10,000
per person, said Mike Withey, their attorney.
"We think the cash settlement does send a message that what
Seattle did was wrong and we shouldn't have been denied our constitutional
rights," said Ken Hankin, a Boeing engineer and one of the
arrested protesters.
The $1 million will come from the city's insurer, not taxpayers,
Withey said. The city has already paid $800,000 to settle multiple
claims involving police misconduct during the WTO protests.
Withey said today's announcement "closes a chapter in Seattle
history" because it marks the last of the legal cases stemming
from protests and arrests involving 1999 World Trade Organization
meeting in Seattle.
Seattle police officers will also receive training on why the department
lacked probable cause for mass arrests, Withey added.
"Nothing is going to replace the time spent in jail and the
lost right to protest WTO," Hankin added. "But I feel
good about the settlement because it shows the city and the police
are willing to accept some changes in their training, and we hope
the police follow through and won't do this again."
A federal jury ruled in January that the city was liable for unlawful
arrests of the protesters. The jury also determined that the arrests
did not violate the protesters' free-speech rights because they
were not made as a result of a city policy.
City Attorney Tom Carr could not be reached for comment on the
settlement.
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