Police officers in Denver violated the rights of protesters during the huge 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd, a federal jury said Friday. As a result, 12 protesters were awarded a total of $14 million in damages after a three-week trial that lawyers involved in the case characterized as the first trial in a lawsuit that challenged police tactics during the 2020 protests that broke out across the country after the killing of Floyd.

Lawyers in the trial argued that police officers violated the constitutional rights of the 12 protesters who sued by striking them with a variety of non-lethal weapons and chemical munitions even though they were all peacefully expressing their views. The attorneys argued the aggressive response to the protesters, and the injured they suffered as a result, were a direct consequence of how the city failed to properly train and supervise police officers. Zach Packard, who ended up in intensive care after he was hit in the head by a Kevlar-bag filled with lead that was fired from a shotgun, received $3 million, which was the largest damage amount.