Michael Brown's family wins $1.5 million settlement, Ferguson city attorney says
Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old, was fatally shot by a white cop in 2014.
— -- The family of Michael Brown, an African American teen whose fatal shooting by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked large-scale protests, has settled its lawsuit against the city for $1.5 million, said Apollo Carey, the city attorney for Ferguson.
The settlement amount was paid by the city's insurance company "on behalf of multiple defendants," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber's order approving the settlement didn't mention the amount, but he said the split of the amount between Brown's parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, is "fair and reasonable" and "provides for a reasonable amount" for attorney fees and expenses, the Post-Dispatch reported.
The judge ordered the settlement agreement sealed, writing that its disclosure "could jeopardize the safety of individuals involved in this matter, whether as witnesses, parties, or investigators," the newspaper reported.
Brown's family filed suit in 2015 against the city, former Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, and former police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed the 18-year-old on Aug. 9, 2014. The suit claimed that the city's police culture was "hostile to black residents" and that "Wilson used excessive force," The Associated Press reported.
A St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and the U.S. Justice Department declined to prosecute him, citing evidence and witnesses supporting Wilson’s claims that Brown attacked him, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Wilson, the former police chief and the city denied the claims made by the Brown family in their lawsuit, the AP reported.