Richmond Times-Dispatch: “The city of Richmond and the Richmond Police Department are more than a month late in complying with the terms of a legal settlement agreed upon with protesters and independent journalists from summer 2020.
The suit, begun in 2022, sought damages under a claim of First Amendment retaliation and excessive force related to those who were at police brutality protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police three years ago….
In March, city lawyers agreed to terms that include a $140,000 legal fee payout, plus the stipulation that the police department would make a “First Amendment policy” that it would use to train officers on how they should treat members of the media.
That stipulation had a 90-day deadline. It is now 48 days since that deadline passed.
Richmond police spokesperson Tracy Walker said the department “has provided two status updates to Plaintiff’s’ Counsel in compliance with the terms of the settlement agreement.”
“During this time, the department has been working to draft the First Amendment policy, including but not limited to attending a conference to understand the most current legal developments on the subject matter, assembling model policies, and beginning to draft the policy itself,” Walker said.”