A judge in Northern California is ordering the city of Oakland to pay about $1 million in attorneys’ fees to a former leader of the Black Panthers who was injured after an Oakland councilwoman punched and pushed her.

An Alameda County jury in January awarded more than $4 million in punitive damages to Elaine Brown in a civil lawsuit she filed against the city and Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks.

The jury found Brooks shoved Brown inside a restaurant during an argument over housing, causing her to fall and injure her shoulder.

Jurors said the former Black Panther leader, who was 72 at the time of the assault, was the victim of elder abuse and battery.


The East Bay Times reported the ruling on attorneys’ fees comes days after the city filed a motion for a new trial.