In January, the city of Washington D.C. agreed to pay $22 million in compensation to the somewhat more than 1,000 people arrested in connection with anti-globalization protests against the IMF and the World Bank in 2002.

The D.C. police employed preemptive arrests (of people they deemed "likely" to become involved in illegal protesting), and inflicted physical duress on some of those arrested.

The 30 named plaintiffs will receive $50,000 each, with most of the others, demonstrators and bystanders, to receive $18,000.

In 2004, the D.C. Council passed the First Amendment Rights and Police Standards Act, largely in response to the arrests on Sept. 27, 2002, most notably at Pershing Park, where more than 400 people were arrested without warning.

This follows several previous settlements and payments for unprovoked arrests associated with the protests. See D.C. Settles Suit Over Protest Arrests and D.C. Settles Lawsuit Over Arrest of Demonstrators at World Bank/IMF Protest

Dave Sagarin (February 19, 2010)