Freddie Gray's family settles with city of Baltimore for $6.4M

[webfact]

Freddie Gray's family settles with city for $6.4M
By JULIET LINDERMAN

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.

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.
___

Associated Press writer David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Maryland, contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-09

[capcc76]

Yep, useless, uneducated free ridding, free totten <deleted> a getting free money. Clock. That is all they care about is free money. They would sacrifice first born for free money.

[Pimay1]

Let's wait and see how many family members are killed fighting over the money.

[ezzra]

Why do I get the feeling that this is ALL about the money and that many other black families wouldn't

mind trading places with the Gary's right now....

Truth to be told, blacks don't give a damn about black's rights or black's

life matter garbage, what they do give a whole lot of damn about is the money and their satisfactions that they

have screwed the white man.....

[Bangkok Herps]

Ladies and gentlemen, your Thaivisa posters in all their glory.

Pure racism combined with baseless claims and a complete lack of actual facts. All in a day's work for keyboard tough guys whose need a lift in life, and thinking their skin color makes them better is pretty much all they got.

The fact that a guy was beat to death for the exact "offense" that some of these same posters have been supporting in other threads (carrying a weapon), or that the family didn't even file a lawsuit, or that wild baseless stereotypes like these and the amount of melanin in one's skin has no causative relationship....nah, stop talking logic, you're making them think too hard.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Bangkok Herps

[BKKSnowBird]

Who says crime doesn't pay?

[oxo1947]

I really did start to think that the first 2 posts were a joke------"free money if your beaten to death " etc............ then I saw the name on the third post I realised no it really is a bunch of crackers.............................

[little mary sunshine]

6.4Million....Are you shit..ing me??? Only on America can a career Criminal 25 years old with over 20 previous convictions be awarded This amt. of money to his family. Settlement should have been based On his legal annual earnings, Age 25 years ahead to work 45, settlement Based on work history...$5000/year X45= 225000 TOPS.....oh, I just saw He was Black.....

[marquisdesade]

If black lives matter, then why don't the black communities police themselves a little better ? why do they not lift their own communities ? why do they not educate their children better ? Why is it always someone else's fault ? 6.4 million is crazy, what did Freddie contribute to society ? listen to the following.

[capcc76]

The settlement amount is offensive. A lot more going on here than meets the eye. Settlement amounts are typically based on pecuinary value of one's life which was very low or approaching zero for a career criminal who may have worked very little and been provided for by the state in a custodial setting. It is offensive considering what normal, good, hard working people would revive in a wrongful death case for bread winners of families that were actual productive members of society.

Forget pecuinary value, there are tort damage caps at issue here and this is also a filal consortium claim which typical has very little value unless child is actually supporting the parents. I would venture to say the most they could have received at trial was very low 6 figures with a tort cap of around $400,000.

This case would have received about squat had it gone to trial so it sounds as if there were wealth shifting forces behind authorization to pay this huge amount of tax payer money.

There is definitely more than meets the eye here to pay a filal consortium claim of a loser about $6,000,000 more than the claim was worth or would have received at trial.

[chuckd]

At least it proves Freddy was worth a lot more dead than alive.

Edited September 9, 2015 by chuckd

[Aussie123]

lol....go to any anonymous forum with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them. When you meet them , they will quickly tell u how they are not racist. Nobody loves Americans..people just pretend.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Aussie123

[capcc76]

At least it proves Freddy was worth a lot more dead than alive.

Yep so sad. I see very good, hardworking people that have wives and children who depend in them get so much less in death or catastrophic injury cases.

The question one needs to ask is who approved such a settlement of tax payor money when the most he could have received was about $400,000 even if he had a real job and people that depended on him.

[capcc76]

lol....go to any anonymous with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them. When you meet them , they will quickly tell u how they are not racist. Nobody loves Americans..people just pretend.

Lol, no one really cares what people like you who don't live here or pay taxes here think. Do you think I care if you don't love me? Do you think I would act differently in person to make you love me in person? Haha, what a joke!

[Bangkok Herps]

A guy was literally tortured to a slow death, but the predicted future wages should be the only determining factor in the settlement. Right.

These whole "Settlement amounts are typically based on pecuinary value of one's life" is ridiculous, not based on any sort of legal or moral reality.

It assumes a world where humans are wage-earning production machines. Where some lives are worth more than other depending on how privileged their position in society was. Where being tortured to death is the same as being accidentally killed. Where penalizing the institution responsible for manslaughter is no part of the settlement.

In the anonymity of the internet, they're not even trying to let their racist motivations stay under cover.

[Tep]

The settlement amount is offensive. A lot more going on here than meets the eye. Settlement amounts are typically based on pecuinary value of one's life which was very low or approaching zero for a career criminal who may have worked very little and been provided for by the state in a custodial setting. It is offensive considering what normal, good, hard working people would revive in a wrongful death case for bread winners of families that were actual productive members of society.

Forget pecuinary value, there are tort damage caps at issue here and this is also a filal consortium claim which typical has very little value unless child is actually supporting the parents. I would venture to say the most they could have received at trial was very low 6 figures with a tort cap of around $400,000.

This case would have received about squat had it gone to trial so it sounds as if there were wealth shifting forces behind authorization to pay this huge amount of tax payer money.

There is definitely more than meets the eye here to pay a filal consortium claim of a loser about $6,000,000 more than the claim was worth or would have received at trial.

Your formula includes the discount for being black right? Don't worry about whether people are going to like you. Just keep up the nonsense.

[squarethecircle]

"This case would have received about squat had it gone to trial so it sounds as if there were wealth shifting forces behind authorization to pay this huge amount of tax payer money."

"Yep, useless, uneducated free ridding, free totten mf'er a getting free money. Clock. That is all they care about is free money. They would sacrifice first born for free money."

I believe it's the Democrat Party ("the party of slavery") behind this. The mayor of Baltimore should be facing a lawsuit and charges for what she did to the law-abiding citizens of Baltimore with the riots. We already know how the "war on poverty" and "war on drugs" worked out, but they're using race-baiting, mob rule and socialist handouts as a way to cover their rears. No wonder Trump is surprising both of the two parties.

Also just read where the family of a NY police officer who survived attempted murder were fighting to get his standard wages awarded to him for life (ie: just the normal expected salary if he hadn't been injured), just a fraction of that $6M amount.

Straight out of Atlas Shrugged

Edited September 9, 2015 by squarethecircle

[capcc76]

A guy was literally tortured to a slow death, but the predicted future wages should be the only determining factor in the settlement. Right.

These whole "Settlement amounts are typically based on pecuinary value of one's life" is ridiculous, not based on any sort of legal or moral reality.

It assumes a world where humans are wage-earning production machines. Where some lives are worth more than other depending on how privileged their position in society was. Where being tortured to death is the same as being accidentally killed. Where penalizing the institution responsible for manslaughter is no part of the settlement.

In the anonymity of the internet, they're not even trying to let their racist motivations stay under cover.

Its called legal norms and consistency in the law. It is what I do every day of my life. I see people that suffer more and longer that are actually good people (of all races and religions) that get much less.

If this case had gone to trial, any verdict over $100k or so would have been remitted to confirm to the way we calculate damages: pecuniary value and filial consortium support.

The you have GTlA caps which I believe are $400k in Maryland.

It is not about race, it is how law is administered to all people on an even handed basis.

Lol, and who are you and what is your degree or vast experience working in the legal system and valuing cases. My guess is pretty much ain't got squat for a degree, but have a pen, a pad and a big imagination . . .

Great lines by my good buddy I grew up with from Saliva. Click, Click, Boom.

Edited September 9, 2015 by capcc76

[Aussie123]

lol....go to any anonymous with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them. When you meet them , they will quickly tell u how they are not racist. Nobody loves Americans..people just pretend.

Lol, no one really cares what people like you who don't live here or pay taxes here think. Do you think I care if you don't love me? Do you think I would act differently in person to make you love me in person? Haha, what a joke!

Lol so you are accepting that you are racist? Yeah, they all pretend to get some love because they know nobody genuinely loves them.

[capcc76]

The settlement amount is offensive. A lot more going on here than meets the eye. Settlement amounts are typically based on pecuinary value of one's life which was very low or approaching zero for a career criminal who may have worked very little and been provided for by the state in a custodial setting. It is offensive considering what normal, good, hard working people would revive in a wrongful death case for bread winners of families that were actual productive members of society.

Forget pecuinary value, there are tort damage caps at issue here and this is also a filal consortium claim which typical has very little value unless child is actually supporting the parents. I would venture to say the most they could have received at trial was very low 6 figures with a tort cap of around $400,000.

This case would have received about squat had it gone to trial so it sounds as if there were wealth shifting forces behind authorization to pay this huge amount of tax payer money.

There is definitely more than meets the eye here to pay a filal consortium claim of a loser about $6,000,000 more than the claim was worth or would have received at trial.

Your formula includes the discount for being black right? Don't worry about whether people are going to like you. Just keep up the nonsense.

Yep. Dude, this is what I do every day of my life.

He actually had a very short suffering period. I see people daily with catastrophic injuries and uncontrollable back pain for years. I see quads stuck in wheel chairs entirely dependent upon other for their ADLs.

This all comes down to how damages are calculated in a tort case. First, look up the governmental tort liability act and see what the cap is, I.e., the most they could get if they go to trial.

Then we have a claim by parents which is typically very low, nominal or nonexistent unless the parents rely upon the adult child for support.

I am talking legal principals that are applied to everyone, every day regardless of race. This guy would get maybe $100k or less if this was decided by a judge or jury under current laws.

[capcc76]

lol....go to any anonymous with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them. When you meet them , they will quickly tell u how they are not racist. Nobody loves Americans..people just pretend.

Lol, no one really cares what people like you who don't live here or pay taxes here think. Do you think I care if you don't love me? Do you think I would act differently in person to make you love me in person? Haha, what a joke!

Lol so you are accepting that you are racist? Yeah, they all pretend to get some love because they know nobody genuinely loves them.

.

Seriously dude, you gotta be pretty desperate or dumb to argue whether any one loves someone based an Internet posting. Man, I am devastated. Think I will just end it all armed with this knowledge.

Edited September 9, 2015 by capcc76

[Ulysses G.]

lol....go to any anonymous forum with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them.

Yeah, sure. Only white people are racist. What load of crap.

[chuckd]

lol....go to any anonymous forum with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them. When you meet them , they will quickly tell u how they are not racist. Nobody loves Americans..people just pretend.

"Nobody loves Americans..people just pretend.:

And many Americans, at least this one, don't really care. Please read my signature.

[capcc76]

lol....go to any anonymous forum with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them.

Yeah, sure. Only white people are racist. What load of crap.

Okay, I am a bit wasted off some Purity Vodka . . . Good stuff if you have not tried it. Scored a perfect 100 . . . , but these post from people sitting around in their whittie titties behinds a key board remind me of my best buddy, Wayne Swinny's song, Click, Click Boom:

C'mon c'mon, c'mon c'mon

On those Saturdays when kids go out and play,

Yo I was up in my room I let the stereo blaze,

Wasn't faded, not jaded

Just a kid with a pad and pen and a big imagination.

All this, I seek,

I find I push the envelope to the line,

Make it, break it, take it

Until I'm overrated.

. . .

What the hell is wrong with me?

My mom and dad weren't perfect,

But still you don't hear no cryin' ass bitchin' from me,

Like there seems to be on everybody's CD

So just sit back and relax and let me have your head for a minute,

I can show you something in it,

That has yet to be presented,

Oh yeah!

Edited September 9, 2015 by capcc76

[Tep]

lol....go to any anonymous forum with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them.

Yeah, sure. Only white people are racist. What load of crap.

Racism is not about saying nasty words about white people or black people or any other people. Racism is a systemic issue. Reverse racism does not exist http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reverse-racism-isnt-a-thing_55d60a91e4b07addcb45da97 If a black person says they hat Whitey, this is not racist or racism. White republicans as victims! Give me a break.Racism was not solved then revived by Obama's election. The 'take back America' crowd are too gutless to face home truths and allow a society to move forward.

[Tep]

The settlement amount is offensive. A lot more going on here than meets the eye. Settlement amounts are typically based on pecuinary value of one's life which was very low or approaching zero for a career criminal who may have worked very little and been provided for by the state in a custodial setting. It is offensive considering what normal, good, hard working people would revive in a wrongful death case for bread winners of families that were actual productive members of society.

Forget pecuinary value, there are tort damage caps at issue here and this is also a filal consortium claim which typical has very little value unless child is actually supporting the parents. I would venture to say the most they could have received at trial was very low 6 figures with a tort cap of around $400,000.

This case would have received about squat had it gone to trial so it sounds as if there were wealth shifting forces behind authorization to pay this huge amount of tax payer money.

There is definitely more than meets the eye here to pay a filal consortium claim of a loser about $6,000,000 more than the claim was worth or would have received at trial.

Your formula includes the discount for being black right? Don't worry about whether people are going to like you. Just keep up the nonsense.

Yep. Dude, this is what I do every day of my life.

He actually had a very short suffering period. I see people daily with catastrophic injuries and uncontrollable back pain for years. I see quads stuck in wheel chairs entirely dependent upon other for their ADLs.

This all comes down to how damages are calculated in a tort case. First, look up the governmental tort liability act and see what the cap is, I.e., the most they could get if they go to trial.

Then we have a claim by parents which is typically very low, nominal or nonexistent unless the parents rely upon the adult child for support.

I am talking legal principals that are applied to everyone, every day regardless of race. This guy would get maybe $100k or less if this was decided by a judge or jury under current laws.

Lovely. We have a personal injury lawyer. Can you send us a pic of your billboard?

I love it when two lawyers get introduced to each other and immediately get in a pissing contest about degrees, universities and other such nonsense.

To give you the benefit of the doubt since you did not demand information on my degrees, I will take you at face value.l Someone recently taught me a wonderful phrase. Apples and Oranges. You are applying your vast experience on valuing compensation presumably in insurance or similar cases to an instance where a life was taken irresponsibly by agents of the State. This no car accident victim. Th metrics you use do not apply here. The compensation is not about how much value this person's life had or could have had, it was recognition of the responsibility of the State to compensate for its agents murdering a person.

Valuation of a human being is a necessary but cruel evil. My Chemistry teacher told us the value of the quality of chemicals that made up the human body. this is not compensation for damages. It is punishment of immoral actions by State agents. Perhaps the vodka can help you see the wood from the trees.

[Chicog]

This is peanuts in the US legal system. Why so surprised?

Look what this lady got for being sexually harrassed (as opposed to murdered).

BIGGEST SEXUAL-HARASSMENT SETTLEMENT

Rent-to-own store Aaron’s is a nationwide franchise with an enormous marketing presence, thanks to its lucrative NASCAR tie-in. You would think that such a major brand would know how to work with employees who want to report bad behavior, but when St. Louis employee Ashley Alford phoned the company’s harassment hotline to report numerous incidents of her manager teasing her, groping her, and on several occasions bopping her on the head with his dick, she received zero support, feedback or even communication from the corporation’s national office.

Shortly after her attempt to contact Aaron’s, Alford was assaulted by her horrible creepo manager (featuring a regulation horrible creepo mustache) in an incident that just barely stopped short of rape, and realizing that the company would never bother to investigate the offense by itself, she filed a lawsuit against Aaron’s Inc. that became America’s largest harassment payoff.

After hearing Alford’s testimony (including “DNA evidence” left on her uniform by her disgusting, perv boss) the jury awarded her an unprecedented $95 million, even though federal law caps the maximum award in any sexual harassment suit to $40 million. Alford plans to contribute much of her winnings to women’s shelters, sexual abuse counseling centers and legal funds to help other women fighting sexual harassment.

[Linky]

lol....go to any anonymous with white people , and you will see the real form of racism in them. When you meet them , they will quickly tell u how they are not racist. Nobody loves Americans..people just pretend.

Lol, no one really cares what people like you who don't live here or pay taxes here think. Do you think I care if you don't love me? Do you think I would act differently in person to make you love me in person? Haha, what a joke!

You cared enough to respond ?

[capcc76]

The settlement amount is offensive. A lot more going on here than meets the eye. Settlement amounts are typically based on pecuinary value of one's life which was very low or approaching zero for a career criminal who may have worked very little and been provided for by the state in a custodial setting. It is offensive considering what normal, good, hard working people would revive in a wrongful death case for bread winners of families that were actual productive members of society.

Forget pecuinary value, there are tort damage caps at issue here and this is also a filal consortium claim which typical has very little value unless child is actually supporting the parents. I would venture to say the most they could have received at trial was very low 6 figures with a tort cap of around $400,000.

This case would have received about squat had it gone to trial so it sounds as if there were wealth shifting forces behind authorization to pay this huge amount of tax payer money.

There is definitely more than meets the eye here to pay a filal consortium claim of a loser about $6,000,000 more than the claim was worth or would have received at trial.

Your formula includes the discount for being black right? Don't worry about whether people are going to like you. Just keep up the nonsense.

Yep. Dude, this is what I do every day of my life.

He actually had a very short suffering period. I see people daily with catastrophic injuries and uncontrollable back pain for years. I see quads stuck in wheel chairs entirely dependent upon other for their ADLs.

This all comes down to how damages are calculated in a tort case. First, look up the governmental tort liability act and see what the cap is, I.e., the most they could get if they go to trial.

Then we have a claim by parents which is typically very low, nominal or nonexistent unless the parents rely upon the adult child for support.

I am talking legal principals that are applied to everyone, every day regardless of race. This guy would get maybe $100k or less if this was decided by a judge or jury under current laws.

Lovely. We have a personal injury lawyer. Can you send us a pic of your billboard?

I love it when two lawyers get introduced to each other and immediately get in a pissing contest about degrees, universities and other such nonsense.

To give you the benefit of the doubt since you did not demand information on my degrees, I will take you at face value.l Someone recently taught me a wonderful phrase. Apples and Oranges. You are applying your vast experience on valuing compensation presumably in insurance or similar cases to an instance where a life was taken irresponsibly by agents of the State. This no car accident victim. Th metrics you use do not apply here. The compensation is not about how much value this person's life had or could have had, it was recognition of the responsibility of the State to compensate for its agents murdering a person.

Valuation of a human being is a necessary but cruel evil. My Chemistry teacher told us the value of the quality of chemicals that made up the human body. this is not compensation for damages. It is punishment of immoral actions by State agents. Perhaps the vodka can help you see the wood from the trees.

I am actually more of a defense lawyer as about 70% of what I do is represent corporations and musicians.

The metrics I use apply everywhere. I currently have cases from Cali, Florida, NY to Mass.

You guys are great. My best entertainment on a daily basis, but I need to stop reading this stuff. Get my blood boiling too much and U think I am happier with my head in the sand.

Lol, throwing out terms like metrics and tal liking about a chemistry course does not make one sound smart. Love it here. You guys are the best!

Oh Linky, you are right . . , I did care enough to respond and I am so very devastated because dude does not love me, if no more posts for the next hour, please send help as I may have slit my wrist.

[capcc76]

This is peanuts in the US legal system. Why so surprised?

Look what this lady got for being sexually harrassed (as opposed to murdered).

BIGGEST SEXUAL-HARASSMENT SETTLEMENT

Rent-to-own store Aarons is a nationwide franchise with an enormous marketing presence, thanks to its lucrative NASCAR tie-in. You would think that such a major brand would know how to work with employees who want to report bad behavior, but when St. Louis employee Ashley Alford phoned the companys harassment hotline to report numerous incidents of her manager teasing her, groping her, and on several occasions bopping her on the head with his dick, she received zero support, feedback or even communication from the corporations national office.

Shortly after her attempt to contact Aarons, Alford was assaulted by her horrible creepo manager (featuring a regulation horrible creepo mustache) in an incident that just barely stopped short of rape, and realizing that the company would never bother to investigate the offense by itself, she filed a lawsuit against Aarons Inc. that became Americas largest harassment payoff.

After hearing Alfords testimony (including DNA evidence left on her uniform by her disgusting, perv boss) the jury awarded her an unprecedented $95 million, even though federal law caps the maximum award in any sexual harassment suit to $40 million. Alford plans to contribute much of her winnings to womens shelters, sexual abuse counseling centers and legal funds to help other women fighting sexual harassment.

Nah, its not. Its am aberration. The difference between your judgment and my judgement is I live in reality and you live in an Internet created reality.