Baton Rouge Reaches $100,000 Settlement With Alton Sterling Protesters Over Lawsuit

The city of Baton Rouge has agreed to settle a lawsuit from protesters, including DeRay McKesson, who were arrested in July while protesting the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, reported The Advocate. Baton Rouge will split approximately $100,000 among more than 90 protesters.

Metro Council approved the settlement Tuesday in a 10-2 vote, with the settlement to be paid by the following four agencies with no one agency paying more than $25,000: the city government, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office, and the Louisiana State Police.

According to East Baton Rouge’s Parish Attorney Lea Anne Batson, the lawsuit’s 92 plaintiffs will each get $230 from the city. Batson also said the remaining money of the $25,000 the city-parish must pay will be used for attorney fees and bond fees.

McKesson was one of three protesters to file the lawsuit against Baton Rouge seeking damages for administrative fees and attorney fees, and for the arrests to be removed from their records. The lawsuit stated police acted in a "militarized and aggressive manner." McKesson and other protesters, who were arrested and charged with obstructing a highway, would not be prosecuted, said East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III.

Metro Councilman John Delgado voted against the settlement and said, "To me, this encourages that type of behavior to happen in the future. I have no interest in paying $100,000 in taxpayer dollars to people who are coming into our city to protest."