Those Days of Police State Are Over...

... At least until the next patriotic hysteria.

D.C. Pays $1million to Demonstrators:

The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $1 million to about 120 protesters who were improperly rounded up by police during demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The settlement Wednesday is the largest payout to date by the city for police actions during the Sept. 27, 2002, protests.

Charles Ramsey, who was police chief at the time, initially defended the arrests but later acknowledged they were improper. Police failed to order the crowds to disperse or warn that they faced arrest.

A larger class-action lawsuit is pending, covering more than 400 people who say they were illegally arrested at Pershing Park near the White House. The city previously agreed to pay more than $640,000 to settle lawsuits filed by 14 other demonstrators who said they were illegally rounded up by police.