Photo by InSapphoWeTrust/Creative Commons
On Thursday, a Penn doctoral candidate was awarded $80,000 in compensation after his wrongful arrest in the 2011 Occupy Philadelphia protests, according to a philly.com article.
Sociology Ph.D. student Gregory Harris was arrested in 2011 for assault after allegedly elbowing a police officer while he observed an Occupy Philadelphia protest for his dissertation. On April 2, a federal civil court jury found that Harris was wrongfully arrested.
In 2011, Municipal Court Judge Karen Simmons dismissed all charges against Harris, which included aggravated assault, riot, recklessly endangering another person and resisting arrest. She ruled there was not enough evidence to demonstrate that Harris, who was in the middle of a large crowd, intentionally injured the police officer in question.
Occupy Philadelphia was a movement about income inequality that began after the financial crisis in 2008. The movement’s goal was to highlight the impact of inequality on “the 99%.” Harris was arrested along with 51 other demonstrators at Dilworth Plaza when Philadelphia Police decided to clear the Occupy encampment.
The jury decided not to award Harris punitive damages, which are damages intended to punish the City of Philadelphia for wrongdoing, his lawyer said. It did award him $80,000 in compensatory damages.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.