Justine Ruszczyk family speak out over George Floyd death at hands of police

The Minneapolis lawyer who secured the record settlement for Justine Ruszczyk's Australian family expects George Floyd's family to be in line for a similar amount.

"It would be hard to think it was worth less unless you want to say a black man isn't worth as much as a white, blonde, young, attractive woman," the Ruszczyk's lawyer Bob Bennett told AAP.

"It is not exactly politically correct in this world."

Ms Ruszczyk, a 40-year-old life coach and yoga instructor originally from Sydney, was shot dead by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor in 2017. She had called 911 after hearing a woman's screams near an alley behind her home.

When she approached Noor's vehicle he shot her in the stomach.

Mr Floyd died last week during an arrest on a Minneapolis street after he was suspected of using a counterfeit $20 note at a store.

Video by bystanders showed Mr Floyd face down, handcuffed and one of four police officers, Derek Chauvin, using a knee to pin Mr Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes.

Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, sparking violent protests across the US.

The Ruszczyks originally filed a $US50 million ($A75 million) civil lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis. The city settled for $US20 million ($A30 million) three days after the criminal trial where a jury found Noor guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in 2019.

Noor is serving a 12.5-year prison sentence.

Mr Bennett said Justine's father John and brother Jason were "principled and tough" in negotiations with the city.

The Ruszczyks aimed for a transformational result that would tear down the "blue wall of silence" among officers and force change within the city's troubled police department.

The Ruszczyks and Mr Bennett said Mr Floyd's death showed the changes they hoped for had not happened.

"The fact nobody tried to intervene shows exactly the attitude about the blue wall," Mr Bennett said.

"Not one brick of it has been torn down."

The Ruszczyks, in a statement released last week, said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told them last year they would work to change the culture and behaviour of officers.

"The fact that another person has died at the hands of the Minneapolis police using excessive force shows that they have not made adequate changes to their practices and training as we had been told they would after Justine's murder," the Ruszczyks said.

- Reported with AAP