The city reached the proposed settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Freddie Gray, who died of a spinal injury in police custody.
Freddie Gray
Freddie Gray's sister, Fredricka Gray (right) and his stepfather, Richard Shipley
Alex Brandon / AP
Baltimore plans to pay $6.4 million to the family of Freddie Gray, an unarmed black man who suffered a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody in April, the mayor's office announced Tuesday.
The Baltimore City Law Department will submit the settlement proposal to the Board of Estimates during its meeting on Wednesday. One of the Board's five voting members includes Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who said Tuesday that the proposed settlement is not a "judgement in the guilt or innocence" of the six officers who are charged in Gray's murder.
In her statement, Rawlings-Blake said, that "the proposed settlement agreement going before the Board of Estimates should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial. This settlement is being proposed solely because it is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages."
The proposed settlement, first reported by The Washington Post, would be paid as $2.8 million during the current fiscal year and $3.6 million in the next fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016.
The city made clear that the proposed settlement "does not resolve any factual disputes" surrounding Gray's death on April 12 and "does not constitute an admission of liability" on the part of the city, the police department or the officers who interacted with Gray.
"The settlement has nothing whatsoever to do with the criminal proceedings now underway," the press release stated.
The proposed settlement comes less than a week after demonstrations outside the Baltimore Circuit Court during the pretrial hearings for the six officers who have plead not guilty. One protester, who was apparently injured, was arrested by police. The judge ruled that the six officers will have individual trials and that State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby will not be forced to withdraw from the case.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the $6.4 million payout is larger than the total of more than 120 other alleged police brutality and misconduct lawsuits against the Baltimore PD since 2011.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1LVuOt7
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