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A look at big settlements in US police killings

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The family of Andre Hill, a Black man who was fatally shot by a white Ohio police officer in December, will receive a $10 million settlement from the city of Columbus.

Hill, 47, was fatally shot by officer Adam Coy on Dec. 22 as Hill emerged from a garage holding up a cellphone. Coy was fired and has pleaded not guilty to murder and reckless homicide charges.

Some settlements in police killings are kept private. Often a settlement includes money but specifies there was no admission of guilt. Some such lawsuits end up in court where a jury can award massive settlements that are reduced on appeal.

Here is a look at other high-profile cases of police killings of Black and brown people and the settlements:

GEORGE FLOYD

In March, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million in what the attorney for George Floyd’s family said was the largest pretrial civil rights settlement ever.

The settlement was announced during jury selection in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a white former city police officer, who was convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death on May 25 last year.

Attorney Ben Crump said it sent “a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end.”

BREONNA TAYLOR

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, agreed last year to pay Breonna Taylor’s family $12 million and reform police practices.

Taylor was shot to death by officers acting on a no-knock warrant. The settlement stipulated reforms on how warrants are handled by police.

No one has been charged in Taylor’s, though three of the officers involved, including the one who took out the warrant, were fired for their actions.

LAQUAN McDONALD

Seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot dead by Chicago police in 2014. Dashcam video showed Officer Jason Van Dyke shoot McDonald 16 times.

A jury found Van Dyke guilty in October 2018 of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in McDonald’s shooting. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

McDonald’s family sued for $16 million — a million for every bullet — but settled for $5 million.

FREDDIE GRAY

Six Baltimore officers were charged in the April 2015 arrest and in-custody death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who died after being injured in a Baltimore police van, touching off weeks of protests.

Three officers were acquitted and prosecutors dropped all remaining charges in July 2016 following a hung jury. Gray’s family agreed to a $6.4 million settlement with the city in September 2015.

PHILANDO CASTILE

Jeronimo Yanez, an officer in St. Anthony, Minnesota, was acquitted of manslaughter in the 2016 fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a Black motorist.

The case garnered attention because Castile’s girlfriend streamed the aftermath live on Facebook.

Castile’s mother reached a $3 million settlement and his girlfriend was paid $800,000 by the city of St. Anthony and others.

TAMIR RICE

Tamir Rice was 12 years old when he was fatally shot by a white Cleveland police officer in a recreational area in November 2014.

The boy had a pellet gun tucked in his waistband and was shot after the officers’ cruiser skidded to a stop just feet away. A grand jury declined to indict patrolman Timothy Loehmann, who fired the fatal shot.

The city settled the Rice family’s lawsuit for $6 million.

MICHAEL BROWN

Michael Brown, an unarmed Black 18-year-old, was fatally shot by a white officer, Darren Wilson, in August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.

A grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and the U.S. Justice Department opted against civil rights charges. The death of Brown led to months of sometimes violent protests and became a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement.

His family received $1.5 million.

ERIC GARNER

Eric Garner, 43, died in July 2014 in New York City after a white officer placed him in a chokehold during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes.

A grand jury declined to indict that officer, or any others involved in the arrest. The Justice Department declined to file civil rights charges after a yearslong investigation.

The city agreed to pay a $6 million civil settlement.