Baltimore Announces $6.4 Million Settlement With Freddie Gray’s Family
The payment is larger than the total of more than 120 other lawsuits brought against the police department for alleged brutality and misconduct since 2011, according to The Baltimore Sun.
A sign showing a picture of Freddie Gray at a Baltimore protest in April. (a katz / Shutterstock.com)
Baltimore officials have reached a $6.4 million wrongful death settlement with Freddie Gray’s family that is expected to be approved Wednesday.
READ: Freddie Gray Case: Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Charges Against Six Police Officers
The city’s Board of Estimates, which oversees the city’s spending and includes Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, will make the final decision.
The payment is larger than the total of more than 120 other lawsuits brought against the police department for alleged brutality and misconduct since 2011, according to The Baltimore Sun.
WATCH: Baltimore’s Top Prosecutor Charges Six Officers in the Killing of Freddie Gray
Gray, 25, was arrested in April and died a few days later from a severe spinal injury he received while riding in the back of a police van. His death ignited protests around Baltimore and anger around the nation over the deaths of black men at the hands of police officers.
The Sun reports:
Six officers who were part of Gray’s arrest and transport in a police van have been charged with crimes ranging from murder to assault; all have pleaded not guilty. A pre-trial motions hearing is scheduled Thursday for a judge to decide whether to move the cases out of Baltimore; defense attorneys say the officers cannot get a fair trial here because of the intense publicity surrounding the case.
Billy Murphy, the lawyer representing Gray’s family, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby also had no comment.
The city is accepting all civil liability in Gray’s arrest and death, but does not acknowledge any wrongdoing by the police, according to a statement from Rawlings-Blake’s administration.
“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,” the mayor said in a statement. “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.”
–Posted by Jenna Berbeo
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