Denver will appeal the $14 million jury verdict awarded to a group of protesters over how police handled the city’s racial justice protests in 2020, Mayor Michael Hancock said Thursday. 

A dozen protesters took their case to court against Denver in March, claiming that misuse of less-lethal weapons by police during the 2020 demonstrations violated their constitutional protections against excessive force and for free speech, peaceful assembly and to petition their government.

The jury found Denver responsible for officers’ use of excessive force by failing to train them adequately. Other policies and practices of the city and approval of the officers’ conduct by policymakers also led to the constitutional violations, the jury decided.

The protesters said they had each been harmed by munitions in some way, ranging from tear gas or pepper spray to shotgun rounds of lead pellet-filled Kevlar bags.

Jurors deliberated for about four hours after three weeks of trial. 

Denver has said the Police Department did the best it could to adapt to the protests that erupted quickly and included people who harmed officers and destroyed property alongside peaceful protesters.

“But understand, we experienced as many cities across this country did two years ago an unprecedented, sustained protest in our downtown,” Hancock told reporters on Thursday. “We’ve never seen that before, and while we were not perfect in our administration and dealing with the protest, we believe that we certainly have some reasons to go back and to look at a different type of decision with regards to that situation, so we will be appealing.”

In a statement, Mark Silverstein, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, said he believes an appeal is not a good use of the city’s resources, calling the jury’s decision “thoughtful and reasoned.” The ACLU represented several of the protesters along with law firm Arnold & Porter.

“Instead of wasting time and money challenging the jury’s verdict, Denver should focus on fixing its police force,” Silverstein said.

Jury finds Denver police violated rights of protesters during 2020 George Floyd demonstrations; awards $14M