Family of Black man fatally shot by police accepts $4.5 million settlement

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The children of late Alton Sterling have accepted a $4.5 million settlement from the Baton Rouge government in Louisiana.
• Sterling’s family filed a lawsuit against the local government following his passing in July 2016 while in police custody.
• His passing fueled widespread protests at the time.

The family of Alton Sterling ━ the black man who passed away after getting shot by a Baton Rouge police officer in July 2016 ━ has accepted a $4.5 million settlement from Louisiana’s city capital.

On Friday, Sterling’s family released a statement confirming that they have accepted the settlement following news reports that the family dismissed the suit last month based on court documents.

The settlement was in fact affirmed by the Metro Council for Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish early this year.

“This settlement, which was reached through hard work and collaboration between attorneys for Mr. Sterling’s family and the Baton Rouge City Council, will allow the city to heal and provide a pathway for Mr. Sterling’s children to be provided for financially,” the statement wrote as released by Sterling family’s legal team.

The statement also wished that the police department would undergo reforms to avoid similar incidents in the future.

“As a community, we must work together to implement changes in policy and in our community to ensure that no other families in Baton Rouge will endure this loss, trauma, or heartbreak,” Mayor Sharon Broome said in a separate statement.

The officer who directly shot the victim was removed from his post while the other one was just suspended. Neither of them got arraigned following the investigations.

In 2017, a formal complaint was filed by the mothers of Sterling’s five children. The suit asked for damages for unlawful handling of the incident and claimed that the local officials failed in managing police officer Blane Salamoni, after he fired shots at Sterling six times, resulting in his passing.

Per the settlement deal, $1 million will be given to Sterling’s children which will come from the insurance reserve funds of East Baton Rouge Parish, as reported by WBRZ-TV. The remaining balance will be given each year in equal installments for the next coming years.

Sterling was shot by Baton Rouge police outside a convenience store on North Foster Drive in 2016 when the latter responded to a call that he was carrying a gun.

His death sparked widespread protests after a video capturing the altercation went viral online.

Source: AOL.com