Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
- Minneapolis City Council voted to approve a $27 million settlement for George Floyd's family Friday.
- The settlement comes months after Floyd's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
- Floyd died in May, when a then-Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
The city of Minneapolis reached a $27 million settlement with George Floyd's family on Friday as the former police officer charged in his murder is headed to trial.
Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to approve the settlement, NBC News reported.
The settlement comes months after Floyd's family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Minneapolis and four city police officers who were involved in the arrest during which Floyd was killed.
The lawsuit, which sought compensatory and special damages, alleged officers violated Floyd's rights by holding him down, and criticized the neck restraint used to detain him.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement includes a $500,000 payment to the neighborhood in which Floyd was arrested.
In a prepared statement to the media, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who's representing Floyd's family, said the settlement "sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end."
Rodney Floyd, George Floyd's brother, said in a press release sent out by the legal team he was "grateful" for the support that had rallied around his family.
"This agreement is a necessary step for all of us to begin to get some closure," he said. "George's legacy for those who loved him will always be his spirit of optimism that things can get better, and we hope this agreement does just that - that it makes things a little better in Minneapolis and holds up a light for communities around the country."
Floyd died during an arrest on May 25, 2020, when then-police officer Derek Chauvin was recorded kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Throughout the ordeal, Floyd said he couldn't breathe and called out for his mother.
All four officers involved in the arrest were fired.
Floyd's death sparked worldwide Black Lives Matter protests and calls for police reform across the United States.
Chauvin has been charged with second-degree and third-degree murder as well as manslaughter in Floyd's death, and jury selection for his trial is ongoing.
The other three police officers involved in Floyd's arrest - Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng - are scheduled to face trial in August on charges of aiding and abetting Floyd's death.