The City of Pittsburgh has reached a $275,000 settlement with a group of protesters who said they were gassed, arrested and traumatized by police during a 2020 racial justice demonstration, the Tribune-Review has learned.

The settlement was revealed in a motion filed Monday in federal court, which states that the seven plaintiffs and the city have agreed to settle the actions of a class-action lawsuit originally filed in June 2020.

Pittsburgh police deployed hundreds of officers to a peaceful protest involving about 150 demonstrators on June 1, 2020, in East Liberty, according to the lawsuit. Police used explosives, tear gas and less-lethal ammunition on the protesters after ordering them to disperse, but then blocked protesters’ exits, the lawsuit said.

This appears to be the first settlement reached in relation to the 2020 protests that happened in Pittsburgh following the death of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man killed by police there in 2020.

The total settlement is a fraction of what other cities have spent on alleged police misconduct during 2020 racial justice protests. Earlier this year, New York City settled for between $4 million and $6 million and Philadelphia will pay $9.25 million to hundreds of protesters.

While this potentially first Pittsburgh settlement is smaller in total dollars compared to those bigger cities, the seven Pittsburgh plaintiffs will receive comparable amounts to what each New York City protesters received. The Pittsburgh plaintiffs will receive about $19,500 each. New York City protesters received about $21,500 each.

The settlement still needs to be approved by Pittsburgh City Council and Mayor Ed Gainey. The lawyers for the plaintiffs said they will not comment on the case until after the matter is taken up by the mayor and council.

One of the plaintiffs, Jay Yoder, was initially charged by police but later acquitted by a judge. Brian McDermott, Yoder’s defense lawyer, said after the acquittal that there was no basis for Yoder’s criminal charges and the charges were a “clear case of retaliation.”

At least three lawsuits have been filed against the City of Pittsburgh for alleged police actions against protesters during the first two days of protests on May 30 and June 1, 2020.

The two remaining lawsuits remain active, according to court filings.

One involves plaintiffs who say they were injured by police while protesting in Downtown on May 30, including one man who lost an eye after police allegedly shot him with a sponge round, another who lost teeth and another who suffered a broken hand.

Vandalism and looting occurred on May 30, but this lawsuit claims that police did not distinguish between peaceful protesters and people who “were not participating in the protests” and instead “created chaos.”

Another lawsuit said a man observing the June 1 protest in East Liberty was shot in the head with a less-lethal round and suffered a skull fracture, intracranial bleeding and an aneurysm.

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