settlement
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Police Reform Bill Seeks to Create Federal Database Tracking All Police Misconduct Allegations and Settlements
A new bill proposed by a Democratic congressman seeks to create a publicly available federal database that tracks police misconduct allegations and settlements involving police misconduct cases at both the state and federal levels. Dubbed the Cost of Police Misconduct Act, the idea behind the bill is that putting all of that dirty laundry on…
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Police Department Costs Ohio City $475,000 Because They Couldn’t Stop Being Racist
For some reason, white people haven’t made the correlation that racism often comes at a hefty price these days. Columbus, Ohio, learned this lesson the hard way after the city voted to settle a former officer’s discrimination suit against the Columbus Division of Police for nearly half a million dollars. CNN reports that the Columbus…
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Maryland County Reaches $20 Million Settlement in Fatal Police Shooting of Handcuffed Man
In Maryland, officials for Prince George’s County have agreed to pay $20 million to the family of a man who was shot and killed by a police officer while handcuffed in a police cruiser. The Baltimore Sun reports that Michael Owen Jr., the officer responsible for shooting William Green, has been in jail since being…
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Family of Layleen Polanco Reaches History-Making $5.9 Million Settlement Over Solitary Confinement Death
The family of Layleen Polanco, a trans-Afro-Latina who died while in solitary confinement at Rikers Island jail last year, will receive a historic $5.9 million settlement—the largest New York City has ever paid out for a death in one of its city jails. In a statement to The City, family attorney David Shanies said the…
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Black Family Who Had Phoenix Cop Pull Gun on Them Over 'Stolen Doll' to Receive $475K From the City
Last summer, a Black family was held at gunpoint by Phoenix police after their 4-year-old daughter walked out of a Family Dollar store with a doll. Video of the incident went viral, and the family filed a $10 million suit against the city. Over a year later, the family is expected to receive $475,000 from…
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#Flint: Michigan Expected to Pay $600 Million to Victims of Yearslong Water Crisis
It has been 2,309 days—or over six years—since the people of Flint, Michigan have been without a clean and reliable water system. Now, Michigan officials are expected to announce this week that the state will pay around $600 million in damages to the victims of the crisis. The New York Times reports that the settlement…
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Ex-Viking Tom Johnson Wins $475,000 Settlement in Police Brutality Lawsuit
Former NFL player Tom Johnson just scored a point for police accountability enthusiasts everywhere by reaching a $475,000 settlement with the city of Minneapolis, putting to rest a 2016 lawsuit alleging police brutality and violation of Johnson’s civil rights. According to the StarTribune, the lawsuit said that officers Patrick McCarver and John LaLuzerne assaulted Johnson…
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Family of 15-Year-Old Killed by Michigan State Trooper Receives $12 Million Settlement: 'Justice Doesn’t Get Back Their Son'
On Aug. 26, 2017, Damon Grimes died after succumbing to injuries from a fatal all-terrain vehicle accident. But since we’re The Root, you know we’ve uncovered more to the story. Prior to the collision, the 15-year-old was illegally riding an A.T.V. through a residential neighborhood in Detroit. When state troopers attempted to pull him over,…
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Judge Orders Alabama City to Pay $850,000 in Legal Fees for School Segregation Plot Gone Wrong
Gardendale, Ala., is an interesting place. I’ll allow The Root Senior Writer Michael Harriot to do the honor of explaining why that is, at least in part, as previously reported here: A judge told a mostly white suburb near one of the blackest cities in the country that—after reviewing all of the facts—she believed the…
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New York City Shells Out $625K to Woman Whose Baby Was Ripped from Her Arms During Welfare Office Confrontation
New York City taxpayers have to pay dearly for the bad judgment of officers who ripped a baby from a woman’s arms during a visit to a human resources office last December. The New York Daily News reported that Jazmine Headley is $625,000 richer after a traumatic confrontation with Human Resources Administration peace officers and…