Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C. is proud to announce a $9.25 million settlement with the City of Philadelphia resolving Zolitor, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, Weltch, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, Hough, et al. v City of Philadelphia, and Smith et al. v. City of Philadelphia. The settlement will be paid to residents of West Philadelphia and to peaceful protesters on I-676 who were teargassed, pepper sprayed, arrested, or otherwise harmed by the Philadelphia Police Department following the death of George Floyd in May 2020. Kohn Swift was counsel in the Zolitor case.

As part of the settlement, the City has agreed to end its participation in the 1033 program, a federal program providing state and local law enforcement with military weapons and equipment. The City has also committed to collecting data around the Police Department’s use of force and to continue discussions about police violence with the community harmed in West Philadelphia. $500,000 worth of funding will provide interdisciplinary, trauma-informed counseling to West Philadelphia residents and will be distributed through a community-led grantmaking process administered by Bread & Roses.

Watch the press conference announcing the settlement here.