DC agrees to pay $8.25 settlement over mass arrests at 2002 World Bank, IMF protests

DC agrees to $8.25M settlement for protest arrests

WASHINGTON — Lawyers for a group of 400 people arrested at a 2002 protest say the District of Columbia has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for about $8.25 million.

The settlement announced Tuesday says nearly 400 people arrested in 2002 near the White House will receive about $18,000 each.

The group’s lawyers say police encircled the park during a protest of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Officers then arrested demonstrators, tourists and others without warning. The plaintiffs allege some were bound for 24 hours.

The deal follows another $13 million settlement last month for arrests in 2000.

D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles says the district government acknowledges no wrongdoing but that police have changed their procedures significantly.