During the George Floyd protests, Black Lives Matters protesters in Seattle wrote anti-police graffiti with chalk, which washes off.
The unhappy cops retaliated by jailing the four protesters overnight in January 2021, despite a directive against holding nonviolent offenders in jail because of the Covid pandemic.
Although the police accused them of “property destruction” under a city ordinance, the four protesters were never charged with a crime, and cops themselves had chalked pro-police graffiti on a sidewalk during the protests.
Last year, the protesters sued the city and the four arresting officers for violating their civil rights. A lawyer for the protesters said the arresting cops were motivated by “animus” toward the protesters and the “content” of their speech.
Now, a federal jury has awarded each of them them $170,000 in damages (read story here and watch video below).