FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A woman who was shot in the eye by an officer’s rubber bullet during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 set to settle her lawsuit with the City of Fort Lauderdale.
City commissioners voted Tuesday night to approve a nearly $2 million settlement with LaToya Ratlieff.
Speaking with 7News, Ratlieff said she hopes she can serve as an example for others.
“I have to sit with this every day. I have to sit with the moments where I need to show up for my family and my friends, and I don’t feel good,” she said. “I don’t have the emotional capacity to do so.”
Ratlieff was struck by a rubber bullet back in May of 2020 while peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd in downtown Fort Lauderdale..
Cellphone video captured Ratlieff, her face bloodied, as she was held up by two other protesters.
For the first time since that day, Ratlieff told 7News, she feels relieved, but the journey to reach this point has not been easy.
“I just still don’t think that the city – I mean, I’m glad that this happened, but true acknowledgment of what was taken from me, and what I will continue to deal with for the rest of my life,” she said.
While the physical injuries are no longer visible, Ratlieff said, the emotional scars are deep.
“I think, for me, it’s just really trying to get back as much as I can of normalcy and finally, at least, closing this chapter so I can really start to heal,” she said.
Ratlieff said she’s been waiting for this moment for a long time.
After Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and the city council approved the lawsuit settlement in Ratlieff’s favor, her attorney, Ben Kuehne, spoke with reporters.
“As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice. It somethimes takes a while to get toward justice, but this is a day of great justice,” said Kuehne.
An investigation into the 2020 incident determined that during the protest, someone picked up a tear gas canister and hurled it toward police officers.
Ratlieff was on the street and was accidentally hit in the eye by the rubber bullet.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trantalis told 7News that Ratlieff wanted major changes to the police department, which were made.
“We removed the police chief. We changed the rules of engagement. We had sensitivity training sessions with our police officers,” he said.
Trantalis said he was surprised when Ratlieff then filed a lawsuit against them.
“I guess it’s just a part of running the city,” said Trantalis. “We don’t appreciate having to suffer this burden, but we support our police department, and we’re hopeful we can do better in the future.”
“I will say that the mayor and the commissioners did the right thing by the City of Fort Lauderdale,” said Kuehne. “LaToya was wounded grievously doing nothing wrong. She was wounded at the hands of police officers who acted improperly. It is right for her to stand up.”
As of Ratlieff, she hopes others learn from her experience.
“I hope that it is an acknowledgment that – one, that this is something that hopefully doesn’t happen to anyone else like this,” she said, “and that people know that if it does, that you are in a position to get justice.”
A class-action lawsuit against the city is still pending. Ratlieff was not named in that suit.
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