New York City reached a settlement on Monday with the family of Eric Garner, agreeing to pay $5.9 million to resolve the wrongful death lawsuit stemming from his killing by the police last July on Staten Island, according to a lawyer representing the family.
Garner’s family had sought $75 million in damages, and had rejected an earlier offer of $5 million last week.
via New York Times:
The agreement, reached days before the deadline to file suit in the death, appeared to be among the biggest reached so far as part of a strategy by the city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, to settle major civil rights claims even before a lawsuit is filed. Mr. Stringer has said the aim is to save taxpayers the expense of a drawn-out trial and to give those bringing the suits and their families a measure of closure.
Last year, Mr. Garner’s relatives, including his widow, Esaw Garner, and with his mother, Gwen Carr, filed a notice of claim — a procedural step that must precede a lawsuit against the city — seeking $75 million in damages. Mr. Garner died on July 17 after a police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, placed him in a chokehold during an arrest as other officers wrestled him to the ground. The confrontation was captured in a cellphone video taken by a bystander.
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