Posted on 09/10/2015 6:00:09 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
Edited on 09/10/2015 8:51:42 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
USAToday is title and link only
Freddie Gray settlement 'obscene,' police union chief says
If this is based on his calculated future earnings, they expected him to be a very successful drug dealer in the future. But they should have taken into account the odds that he might have been shot to death by a rival dealer.
Actually she’s a Heroin addict and quite a looker too. I left a baseball glove out in the backyard all Winter once that looked better than her face. Much like SSDI moochers who get a balloon payment. She will be dead within days of getting her $5 million check. If she can find a bar that will cash it.
bmp
If that city thinks the ill gotten money to the family will prevent more “riots” when the officers are found not guilty, it has been mislead. It is a product wholly made by racebaiters like Obama and his minions.
Too bad that part or most of that “settlement” can’t required to pay for damages from the riots.
NEW YOUK TIMES
Baltimore Announces $6.4 Million Settlement in the Death of Freddie Gray
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERGSEPT. 8, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/us/freddie-gray-baltimore-police-death.html?_r=0
WASHINGTON — The family of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who sustained a fatal spinal cord injury in police custody — setting off the worst unrest in Baltimore since 1968 — reached a $6.4 million settlement with the city on Tuesday, just days before a judge is to consider whether to move the trials of six officers facing charges in his death.
The tentative settlement, which must be approved by city leaders, was reached even before the Gray family filed an expected civil suit. In making the announcement, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the settlement “should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial,” but had been negotiated to avoid “costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal.”
But the police union pounced on the timing. The union president, Lt. Gene Ryan, issued a statement saying it was “obscene” to settle with the family before the officers went to trial.
Legal specialists said the $6.4 million was in line with settlements for recent racially charged police misconduct cases and might herald an era in which juries and city officials were inclined toward bigger payouts, given the national conversation over police treatment of African-Americans.
In July, the estate of Eric Garner, who died in New York after the police used a chokehold, a banned maneuver, to restrain him, settled with the city for $5.9 million. In Cleveland on Tuesday, just as the Gray settlement was being announced, a jury awarded $5.5 million to the estate of Kenneth Smith, a 20-year-old hip-hop artist who was fatally shot by an off-duty officer.
“It used to be that we couldn’t even get fair play in these cases because the cards were stacked against us,” said Terry Gilbert, the lawyer representing the Smith estate. “But now there is a new mood in this country because of the police shootings. People are beginning to see there are serious problems with criminal justice.”
In Baltimore, Kurt L. Schmoke, who was the city’s first elected black mayor and is now the president of the University of Baltimore, called the proposed settlement a “positive step” and said it could help calm a city that remains on edge.
“It is an admission by the city leaders that there was negligence but that they’re taking steps to heal the wounds that arose out of that negligence,” Mr. Schmoke said. “It won’t satisfy everyone, but if the family can convey a message that this is a positive step, then I think it could help defuse some of the anger that’s out there.”
A lawyer for the family, Billy Murphy, declined to comment Tuesday, but he scheduled a news conference for Wednesday. The city Board of Estimates, a five-member panel, including the mayor, that approves purchases and contracts, will consider the proposal on Wednesday and is likely to approve it.
The proposed settlement comes as judicial hearings are beginning against the six officers facing criminal charges in the case. Last week, Judge Barry G. Williams of the Baltimore City Circuit Court ruled that the six would be tried separately; on Thursday, the judge will consider a request by defense lawyers to move the trials outside Baltimore.
The agreement with the Gray family may help the defense make that case, said Ekow N. Yankah, a professor at the Cardozo School of Law: “They will argue that the normal jury is going to think that the city’s settlement is in some way an admission of guilt.”
In filing criminal charges against the six officers, the state’s attorney for Baltimore City, Marilyn J. Mosby, has asserted that on April 12 they improperly arrested and shackled Mr. Gray, flouting police rules and standards of decency by loading him into a police van without required safety restraints and ignoring his pleas for help during the ride.
The six face varying charges. Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., the driver of the van, is charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder — in essence, murder with willful disregard for human life. Sgt. Alicia D. White, Lt. Brian Rice and Officer William G. Porter are charged with manslaughter. Officers Edward M. Nero and Garrett Miller face lesser charges, including second-degree assault.
By Baltimore standards, the proposed settlement may seem large. Last year, The Baltimore Sun reported that taxpayers had paid $5.7 million since 2011 in judgments or settlements in 102 lawsuits claiming police misconduct. But Professor Yankah said those settlements were capped under Maryland law, and had the Gray family filed a civil suit in federal court — where the caps do not apply — Baltimore could have faced a judgment in the millions.
“This case is happening in a very particular, very racially charged time, where the whole country is looking at police violence and minority relationships,” he said. “The mayor would be deeply irresponsible not to take into account the current climate.”
CNN
Baltimore approves $6.4 million settlement for Freddie Gray’s family
By Miguel Marquez, Jason Hanna and Ashley Fantz, CNN September 9, 2015
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/09/us/baltimore-freddie-gray/
Gray family attorney praised the settlement saying it was an “extraordinary result”
Mayor says the settlement would prevent costly and protracted litigation
(CNN)Baltimore officials approved a $6.4 million deal Wednesday to settle all civil claims tied to the death of Freddie Gray.
Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while he was transported in a Baltimore police van in April.
The settlement does not “represent any judgment” on the guilt or innocence of the six police officers charged in the case, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. “This settlement represents an opportunity to bring closure to the Gray family, the community and the city.”
Rawlings-Blake is part of a five-person panel called the Board of Estimates that handles the city’s financial affairs and approved the settlement.
Gray’s family negotiated the deal with city attorneys, a source close to the family told CNN.
“All of us realize that money cannot, will not — there’s no possibility — to bring back a loved one,” the mayor said. “I hope that this settlement will bring a level of closure for the family, for the police department and for our city.”
She and others on the panel said that the decision to settle with the family was weighed against the high cost of fighting an anticipated civil suit.
“We can avoid years and years of protracted civil litigation,” Rawlings-Blake said, which would be a “significant expense.”
The officers charged in Gray’s death are not named in the settlement, said City Solicitor George Nilson.
The agreement “spares us all having the scab of April of this year picked over and over and over for five and six years to come,” he said.
Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has said Gray’s injury in April occurred because he was handcuffed and shackled — but not buckled in — in the police van. Six officers will stand trial on charges ranging from assault to murder. All six have pleaded not guilty.
Gray family attorney Billy Murphy said settling potential civil claims without litigation was “an extraordinary result.” Litigation, he said, puts family members “through hell.”
If a civil case went to court, he added, “it could easily have taken three years to resolve, and no grieving family wants to go through that,” he said. “And our city would not want to go through that.”
Police disapprove of settlement
But the head of Baltimore’s police union, which represents the six accused officers, said before the announcement that a settlement would be premature.
“To suggest that there is any reason to settle prior to the adjudication of the pending criminal cases is obscene and without regard to the fiduciary responsibility owed to (taxpayers),” said Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police.
“There has been no civil litigation filed, nor has there been any guilt determined that would require such a ridiculous reaction.”
Ryan had urged the city committee to reject the settlement pact.
“This news threatens to interrupt any progress made toward restoring the relationship between the members of the Baltimore Police Department and the Baltimore city government,” he said.
In comments to reporters later Wednesday morning, the mayor reacted to Ryan’s comments.
“Gene’s statements continue to baffle me, because what this settlment does is remove any (civil) liability from the six officers,” she said.
The settlement, she said, ensures that however each officer’s criminal trial plays out, they cannot be sued in civil court.
Gray’s death sparked outrage that led to days of massive protests, including some that turned violent. Buildings went up in flames, and local businesses were devastated by vandalism and looting — despite the Gray family’s pleas for peace.
The mayor and Murphy said they welcome the city police department using body cameras. Murphy said a body camera program could be implemented as early as this month.
I’ll be surprised if the words are not uttered, and the juries consider them in violation of their instructions.
There is no reason to rush into the settlement. The city government appears to have done so in a prejudicial manner - and Mosby has shown she doesn’t believe the law is the law.
Just my opinion, but I will be interested in seeing if I am correct or not.
Even more unusual than the monetary amount, experts say, is the timeline: the city agreed to a settlement before the family filed a lawsuit.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Freddie Gray’s family settles with city for $6.4M
Associated Press By JULIET LINDERMAN September 8, 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/freddie-grays-family-settles-city-6-4m-145735914.html
BALTIMORE (AP) — The parents of Freddie Gray reached a tentative $6.4 million settlement with the city of Baltimore, nearly five months after their 25-year-old son was critically injured in police custody, sparking days of protests and rioting.
The deal announced Tuesday appeared to be among the largest settlements in police death cases in recent years and happened just two days before a judge is set to hear arguments on whether to move the trials for six officers charged in Gray’s death from Baltimore.
Gray’s spine was injured April 12 in the back of a transport van after he was arrested. Gray, who was black, died at the hospital a week later. In the aftermath, Gray became a symbol of the contentious relationship between the police and the public in Baltimore, as well as the treatment of black men by police in America.
The city’s Board of Estimates is expected to approve the settlement Wednesday.
“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,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a news release. “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 settlement does not resolve any factual disputes, and expressly does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of the city, its police department or any of the officers. The settlement has nothing whatsoever to do with the criminal proceedings, the news release said.
An attorney for Gray’s family declined to comment.
The proposed payment in the Gray case is more than the $5.7 million the city of Baltimore paid in total for 102 court judgments and settlements for alleged police misconduct between 2011 and last fall, according to an investigation by The Baltimore Sun. The city paid another $5.8 million for legal fees to outside lawyers who represented officers, the newspaper reported.
View gallery
Freddie Gray dies in police custody in Baltimore
A mural memorializing Baltimore resident Freddie ‘Pepper’ Gray is painted on the wall near the place …
The amount of the settlement exceeds what the family could have won in state court; Maryland has a $400,000 cap on damages for those who win judgments over police misconduct. However, cases that involve grave injury or death — and the possibility of civil rights violations — frequently wind up in federal court, where the cap does not apply.
Even more unusual than the monetary amount, experts say, is the timeline: the city agreed to a settlement before the family filed a lawsuit.
Experts say the city’s willingness to pre-empt a lawsuit could have an impact on the officers’ ability to receive a fair trial in Baltimore.
“Damages would have been paid if the city went to trial and they’re willing to settle it. But they tell us it’s by no way an admission of fault by the police officers,” said David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh. “There’s no doubt that this will figure in to the hearing for change of venue. If I was an attorney for a defendant I’d be revising my motion right now to say the settlement was made to persuade the jury pool that the officers did something wrong.”
Douglas Colbert, a professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey Law School, said the settlement is a step in restoring the public’s faith in local government and mending the relationship between the citizens of Baltimore and elected officials.
“It’s a big step toward a different type of policing,” Colbert said, “and a relationship with the community that deters misconduct.”
In July, New York City settled for $5.9 million with the family of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died after being put in a white police officer’s chokehold. The city of Chicago settled in 2001 a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of LaTanya Haggerty, a black woman who was shot to death by a black officer who mistook her cellphone for a weapon, for $18 million.
But Eugene O’Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said such settlements are damaging for communities and self-serving for governments. By paying off family members, O’Donnell said, cities can prevent real scrutiny of political and social ills that allowed misconduct to occur.
“It’s all too easy to take public money and hand it over to people and say, ‘Well, this is a big aberrational mistake and we’re going to make it good,’ and it generally absolves the policymakers and the people in power of responsibility, when in fact the mistakes are systemic and reflective of a lack of leadership,” he said.
The head of Baltimore’s police union condemned the agreement.
“To suggest that there is any reason to settle prior to the adjudication of the pending criminal cases is obscene and without regard to the fiduciary responsibility owed to the taxpaying citizens of the city,” Lt. Gene Ryan said in a statement.
All six officers, including Edward Nero and Garrett Miller, are charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter also face a manslaughter charge, while Officer Caesar Goodson faces the most serious charge of all: second-degree “depraved-heart” murder.
Not for this amount, I agree. But if the family would settle for say $300,000, I'd take it in a heatbeat. Cheaper than trial, no dirty laundry comes out.
That amount would be more in line with reality.
But the timing is still prejudicial, in my mind.
The ‘settlement’ was for $4.6 million.
Correction
$6.4 million
The other night on a TV cop show, they said that the squad cars that the handcuffed perps are put into always have a live camera facing that back seat. I guess they don’t have those live cameras in the back of paddy-wagons?
The Gray case may be unlike any other that Murphy has taken simply because the stakes are so much higher. While six officers have been indicted in Gray’s death, there is growing skepticism among some residents over whether there will be convictions. And many are fearful that if the city erupted after Gray’s death, then what might happen if the officers are acquitted
Gotta throw some fresh meat to the animals lest they get restless.
How to deliver the money.
1. Take cash in suitcases and open them on live National TV. Show the delivery to the house.
2. Deliver the cash on a Saturday Afternoon when the banks are closed.
3. Withdraw all police from 5 miles around the house.
4. They will be broke Monday Morning.
$6.4M for a thug who died under unknown circumstances? I doubt that any liberal would support 10% of that for a cop who died defending decent people. Liberals disgust me.
Baltimore has roughly 150,000 taxpayers total. This windfall for the loser’s family works out to a cost of more than $40 per person for those supporting Baltimore’s vast parasitic class.
TERRIFIC
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