Four people arrested at a protest march during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City have been awarded $185,000. Theirs was the first trial stemming from lawsuits over convention-related arrests.
A Manhattan federal jury Wednesday awarded each of them $40,000 for being wrongfully arrested, plus a total of $25,000 in punitive damages against a police official.
The four rejected an $18 million settlement the city had reached with 1,800 other convention protesters.
A judge found in 2012 more than 225 people were arrested without probable cause at the August 2004 march. The trial concerned only damages.
Demonstrator Howard Gale says the point was spotlighting police mistreatment, not getting money.
City lawyer Peter Farrell says police made arrests because the march couldn't proceed safely.
The convention confirmed the nomination of President George W. Bush for re-election.
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