District Reaches Settlement Over Mass Arrests Other Lawsuits Pending From

District Reaches Settlement Over Mass Arrests Other Lawsuits Pending From Protests
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 1, 2004; Page B01

The District has agreed to compensate three art school students to settle a lawsuit alleging that they were wrongfully arrested during the mass roundup of 400 protesters and bystanders in a downtown Washington park in September 2002.

The two sides in the case have agreed that each of the students, who attend the Corcoran College of Art and Design, will receive $7,000 to $10,000, with the exact amount to be determined, officials familiar with the case said yesterday, speaking on condition that they not be identified.

The federal lawsuit is one of four filed against the District in connection with the mass arrests by D.C. police in Pershing Park during antiwar and anti-globalization protests Sept. 27, 2002, and the city is trying to settle all four cases. One of the other cases is a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of the estimated 400 people arrested in the police action.

Some observers, including D.C. Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), said yesterday that the deal with the Corcoran students could set a minimum bar for the payout to the remaining 397 plaintiffs, which would mean a total bill of as much as $4 million for city taxpayers.

But Brian Charles Malone, the lawyer representing the students, said negotiations on the remaining three cases could turn out to be more complicated. The students were bystanders who were taking pictures of the protests as an assignment for a photojournalism class.
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