Posted on 06/23/2017 10:30:00 AM PDT by TigerClaws
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The insurance company for the city of Ferguson, Missouri, paid $1.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Michael Brown's parents, the city attorney said Friday.
Attorney Apollo Carey disclosed the amount in an email in response to an open records request. The settlement of the federal lawsuit was announced Tuesday, but financial details were not initially released.
Carey declined further comment on the settlement. A phone message seeking comment from the attorney for the family, Anthony Gray, was not immediately returned.
Brown, 18, was black and unarmed when he was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing, but the shooting led to months of protests in the St. Louis suburb.
Wilson resigned in November 2014, soon after a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict him. The U.S. Department of Justice found no grounds to prosecute Wilson, but the shooting led to a Justice Department investigation that resulted in a consent agreement requiring Ferguson to make significant changes to address racial bias in its police department and municipal court.
Michael Brown Sr. and Lezley McSpadden sued the city, former Police Chief Tom Jackson and Wilson in 2015, citing a police culture hostile to black residents and claiming Wilson used excessive force.
Ferguson, Jackson and Wilson denied the allegations.
The parents also argued that the death of their son deprived them of financial support through his future potential wages.
U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber approved the settlement but disclosed nothing about the amount, saying only that it was "fair and reasonable compensation for this wrongful death claim and is in the best interests of each Plaintiff," with the money to be split between the parents.
Webber also wrote that the agreement "shall remain sealed by this Court and shall be considered a closed record" because disclosure of the information "could jeopardize the safety of individuals involved in this matter, whether as witnesses, parties, or investigators."
Settlements involving public money and public entities like cities are typically open under Missouri law, but Webber wrote that the value of opening the record "is outweighed by the adverse impact to Plaintiffs." He did not elaborate.
Until recently, the case appeared headed to trial. The parties disclosed their expert witnesses to the court last month and were scheduled to turn over their depositions and other evidence this summer. A jury trial was set for February 2018.
But the judge referred the parties to alternative dispute resolution in April, according to court records. Two sealed documents were filed with the court this month, and attorneys for the family and the city held a 14-minute confidential telephone conference with the judge on Monday, the records show.
BS!
A REAL JUDGE would have thrown this “lawsuit” out in a NY second!
It’s a viable exit strategy in case the male offspring can’t make it to the NFL or NBA.
Its not their money, so what do they care?
It’ll be gone in 6 months.
L
Ed
They admitted their officer was wrong with this payment. They verified all the BLM trash, the riots, everything that happened.
My guess would be that attorney’s fees are also being paid in addition to the award.
Where is my purple drank to go with????? /sarc
I doubt it. It’s not considered income, and some people just hide their assets because they think they are entitled to welfare.
I forgot about the fights over the shirts. LOLOLOL
I will have to google every once in a while to see what disaster has fallen these people after their new found wealth.
The “Gentle Giant” was trying to steal the officer’s gun and, therefore, was shot.
His family hits the lottery over their son’s stupidity? Amazing.
...
That was Obama’s America. We’re still paying for it.
They’ll be broke and back on welfare in 3-5 years.
Bet on it.....................Not necessarily, they could invest it and become even richer via lottery tickets. First will be a new car, a huge TV, a new home and a large scholarship fund for aspiring rappers.
I am guessing within the year. Divided up among relatives and the lawyers there will be infighting and I bet shots fired then back to their current life of little to no money.
I agree. And then when they riot and a few are arrested, we have to pay their legal fees, if they should get the rare sentence we pay for their incarceration and fictional rehabilitation.
I was thinking the same thing, only give them 6 months...
Neither one of those people cared a damn about that boy, or he wouldn’t have been where he didn’t belong...
They wanted money, they saw a ‘loophole’ and they took it...sometimes lives don’t matter!!!
Why?! He had just committed a strong-arm robbery and was walking down the middle of the street when Officer Wilson legitimately stopped to question him and was shot for his efforts. The family should have nothing coming to them for the actions of their thug family member. This was not a Walter Scott type murder.
They shouldn’t pay him a dime. BUT, this basically means that his lifetime earnings till Social Security age would be that amount.
Essentially, the insurance company decided he would be flipping burgers his entire life and that’s all.
That’s a funny silver lining and the closest insurance companies get to anything resembling “humor”.
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