RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Reno City Council approved a $250,000 settlement Wednesday with a former ACLU official who was shot by police with rubber bullets while serving as a legal observer at a 2020 civil rights protest in the wake of George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis.
Rebecca Gasca, ex-deputy policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said in a federal lawsuit she was wearing a vest that read "ACLU Observer" on the fringe of the downtown protest when she was injured and her civil rights violated by police.
What began as a peaceful demonstration organized by Black Lives Matters and others on May 30, 2020, turned violent with isolated pockets of vandalism, including windows broken at city hall and a nearby business.
The mayor declared a state of emergency, dozens of people were arrested and businesses reported thousands of dollars in damage.
Gasca said in the lawsuit filed last year in U.S. District Court in Reno she was wearing the vest and had raised her arms above her head when she approached police from an empty parking lot blocks from the center of the activity before she was shot multiple times with nonlethal rubber bullets.
Gasca said she had arrived after a friend who was acting as a legal observer for Black Lives Matter called her about police shooting indiscriminately at protestors with tear gas and pepper balls.
"The trauma I experienced fails in comparison to the history of the suffering of so many others at the hands of institutionalized police brutality in our country," Gasca said in a statement released by her lawyer's office following Wednesday's vote.
"We need peaceful change through police reform and we need it now," she said.
The council voted 6-1 to approve the settlement, which named the city and its former police chief as defendants and is subject to final approval by a federal judge.
The settlement admits no liability by any party. But in addition to the $250,000 payment it requires the city to engage in discussions with Gasca's attorney about potential changes to polices, procedures and police training on using the same type of nonlethal round for crowd dispersion, according to the city's legal staff.
"We owe a great deal of apology to this plaintiff," Councilman Devon Reese said, adding that he knows Gasca.
Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus said she cast the lone dissent because she didn't get to see the settlement agreement until minutes before the vote. She said it was an important matter that should receive more attention than quick approval based on the legal staff's recommendation with limited details.
"This admission of an excessive force action — it's the first one we've had and I think it's sad," Breckhus said. "I think this could have been a very good moment to explain what happened that day, what we've learned."
Gasca's lead lawyer, Maggie McLetchie, said they were pleased they could resolve the case without further legal proceedings.
"Ms. Gasca and I look forward to working with the city of Reno to make meaningful changes to ensure this does not happen again," she said. "We should not live in a world where you need to live in fear of the police because of the color of your skin, or because you legally observe or attend a protest drawing attention to police violence."
