The family of slain teenager Freddie Gray have agreed to a $6.4 million wrongful death settlementwith the City of Baltimore nearly five months after Gray died of severe spinal injuries he sustained while riding in the back of a police vehicle.
The payment, if approved by city spending officials as expected, will be larger than the combined settlement payouts the city made in over 100 separate police misconduct cases from 2011 to 2014. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) emphasized that the decision to settle the Gray family’s suit is not “a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial” for charges that they killed Gray by giving him an intentionally violent “rough ride” back to a police station.
In addition to the $5.7 million that Baltimore paid to victims in alleged police misconduct cases of various kinds from 2011 to 2014, the city spent $5.8 million on related litigation. Settling with the Grays instead of fighting their claims in court will likely save the city money despite the size of the settlement figure.
And this really is taxpayer money. The City of Baltimore is a currency user.
Baltimore To Pay Freddie Gray’s Family $6.4 Million In Wrongful Death Settlement
Alan Pyke
The family of Freddie Gray does deserve some kind of compensation for the murder of the teen. This was an act that was not carried through in a professional manner by police officers, and it should set an example that gun violence isn't always the answer. There should be new methods in place for handling people who don't have weapons or those who don't seem like they are a harm to others.
ReplyDeleteModesto Culbertson @ D & Z Law Group