George Floyd’s family sues Kanye West for $250M after rapper disputes cause of death
Published Mar 11, 2018 at 10:11 AM
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The family of the black man missing in the 2016 unrest in Minneapolis said Friday that they are suing Kanye West, a major figure in the protest movement, for “gross negligence” in his response to the August death of Robert “Kurr” Blount, who they believe died from injuries suffered during a protest earlier that year.
The lawsuit filed in St. Louis Circuit Court seeks unspecified damages and is the first of its kind to be filed against a public figure accused of helping to spark the riots. Floyd’s mother, sister and cousin are among the plaintiffs in the case.
A medical examiner concluded that Blount died from gunshot wounds, but did not specify the guns used by authorities during an exhaustive search for Floyd after his vanishing.
The family of the black man missing in the 2016 unrest in Minneapolis said Friday that they are suing Kanye West, a major figure in the protest movement, for “gross negligence” in his response to the August death of Robert “Kurr” Blount, who they believe died from injuries suffered during a protest earlier that year.
The family’s complaint states that West, who has criticized Floyd since Blount’s death was announced, should have been on alert to the possibility that demonstrators were armed.
The family’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. West has defended his comments and said he only meant to criticize the protesters’ behavior.
The family believes Kanye West, a star producer with the rap group Public Enemy, should have been on guard for a potential threat during the days that followed when the demonstrations erupted and hundreds of officers spent days combing the city for Floyd.
As protesters roamed the city chanting “Black Lives Matter!” and destroying property they found in a looted liquor store, one of the officers who led the hunt down for Blount on Aug. 12 told the Minneapolis Star, “We’re all in this together.”
“If Kanye West knew there were armed protesters, he should have either made himself known to the authorities or called the Minneapolis