Sacramento pays settlement to woman who was shoved by officer at George Floyd protest
The city of Sacramento has paid $20,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who was pushed to the ground by a law enforcement officer during a 2020 protest against police brutality.
Zakiyah Guillory, her mother, her sister and her niece were in downtown Sacramento on May 31, 2020, participating in a protest against police brutality after the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
On their way home, around 1 a.m., they saw what appeared to be an officer choking someone, according to the lawsuit she filed in Sacramento County Superior Court. Guillory got out of the car and started filming on her cellphone.
The incident was particularly disturbing to Guillory, she said at the time, because an officer had killed Floyd by kneeling on his neck.
While Guillory is recording and yelling “he can’t breathe,” an officer holding a baton can be seen on video shoving Guillory. She falls to the ground in the street, and stays there for several seconds before standing up.
The lawsuit alleges the officer shoved Guillory because she is Black.
“As Guillory filmed, two light skinned women interfered with the officers,” the lawsuit read. “One of the light skinned women grabbed an officer. However, city officers and county deputies ignored the light skinned women. Instead, the officers and deputies focused on Guillory, who was readily apparent as African American.”
As a result of falling down on the street, Guillory suffered from chronic back pain and post-traumatic stress, lost her job, and was forced to temporarily release custody of her children, the lawsuit said.
The city declined to comment on the individual settlement, but provided a comment that referred to a group of recent settlements.
“In regard to these cases, the City of Sacramento determined it was appropriate to work with the plaintiffs to reach fair and reasonable agreements that resolved the issues and satisfied the involved parties,” city spokesman Tim Swanson said in an email.
Guillory’s video showed an officer using both arms to restrain an 18-year-old boy by the neck. At the time, the Sacramento Police Department permitted officers to use a neck hold known as the carotid restraint. The hold is performed by applying pressure to the sides of the neck with an arm, which can block blood flow and cause someone to become unconscious.
The department has since banned that restraint as an acceptable use of force. Gov. Gavin Newsom in Sept. 2020 signed a law banning the chokehold statewide.
The department previously announced that it investigated the incident Guillory recorded. It has not disclosed the outcome of the investigation, or if any officers were disciplined.
The lawsuit also named the county as a defendant, but the county has not paid a settlement, county spokeswoman Kim Nava said.
The teenager whom the officer placed in the neck restraint, Tyzhon Johnson, was charged with looting and resisting arrest. His charges were later dismissed.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 5:25 AM.
