Sacramento pays $500,000 settlement to Black man hit by a police projectile during protest
The city of Sacramento has paid a $500,000 settlement to a Black man who was injured by Sacramento police during a 2020 protest against police brutality.
Foucha Coner was 21 when he participated in a peaceful demonstration in front of the Capitol building on May 31, 2020, in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, according to the lawsuit, filed in 2020 in Sacramento Superior Court.
At about 10 p.m., officers aimed projectile guns at a group of peaceful protesters that included Coner and gave a single order to disperse, the lawsuit alleges. Coner did not fully understand the order or know where he should go.
Within seconds of the order, officers threw tear gas, flash grenades and shot “non lethal” projectiles at the crowd, the lawsuit alleges. As Coner attempted to find a way to exit, an officer fired a “non lethal” projectile hitting him near his right eye, and at the back of his calf.
Coner temporarily lost his vision, and later needed seven stitches above his right eye.
City spokesman Tim Swanson said that at the time of Coner’s injury Sacramento police were tasked with protecting bystanders and protesters. The police’s response to the “chaotic and dangerous situations, which included acts of severe vandalism, threats and assaults” involved other agencies and the National Guard.
“Unfortunately, in a small number of cases, individuals who were not the intended recipient of those tools were injured during those very dynamic situations,” Swanson wrote. “While each such instance is extremely regrettable, it must be remembered that the scenes of these deployments were perilous, rapidly changing, and unprecedented.”
In Coner’s case, Swanson said, the the city “determined it was appropriate to work with the plaintiff to reach a fair and reasonable settlement that satisfied the involved parties.”
It’s not the first settlement the city has paid to a person who was injured by police during the 2020 demonstrations against police brutality.
The city last year paid $3 million to Nia Love, who was blinded in one eye by a rubber bullet during a south Sacramento demonstration. The city last year also paid $20,000 to a woman who was shoved to the ground by an officer while she was recording video of officers using a since-banned neck hold.
Over three years after the incident, the city has yet to release the name of the officer involved in Coner’s injury, the body camera footage and disciplinary documents. State law requires cities to release all documents regarding severe injuries caused by officers. Sacramento police spokespeople did not respond to an email asking why it had not yet released the documents.
“I have been so proud to represent Foucha Coner and to fight for his right to be free of police violence,” said Lisa Bloom, Coner’s attorney. “This is a win not only for him, but for all Black Lives Matter activists, standing up against injustice.”
