Facts

On Nov. 5, 2010, a demonstration occurred in the downtown area of Oakland. The protest occurred as a reaction to a jury's verdict, which consisted of a two-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter in a case involving the killing of Oscar Grant, an unarmed African-American man, by white Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle on Jan. 1, 2009. A group of the protestors attempted to march to the BART station where the killing occurred after an initial rally ended.

The named plaintiffs filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of 150 people, who were arrested during the protest, against the City of Oakland, Alameda County and several of the officers involved in the arrests, alleging civil rights violations.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs alleged that the mass arrest, and subsequent detention, were unlawful. Plaintiffs claimed, and the City of Oakland conceded, that there was no probable cause to support the mass arrest for unlawful assembly and that the Oakland Police failed to tell the crowd of protesters to disperse prior to herding them onto a side street, shutting down all means of egress, and arresting 152 people.

Result

Alameda County and the City of Oakland will pay $1,025,000 to settle the case. The class action settlement, notice and claims procedure received preliminary court approval on June 13, 2013. Under the deal, the City of Oakland will pay $850,000 and Alameda County will pay $175,000. Additionally, significant injunctive relief was obtained including the Oakland Police's agreement to abide by a comprehensive negotiated Crowd Control Policy, subject to federal court enforcement for a period of four years, extendable to seven years. Oakland Police Dept. and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office will institute expedited procedures for processing and releasing people arrested at demonstrations; and the class members will receive orders of exoneration and their arrest records will be sealed and destroyed.