Andrew Brown Jr.’s family must dismiss all legal claims after $3 million settlement
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A group marches for Andrew Brown Jr. Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The family of Andrew Brown Jr., an unarmed Black man who was shot and killed by police while in his car in North Carolina, reached a $3 million settlement Monday with the Pasquotank County sheriff's office, the Associated Press reports.
The intrigue: The family will have to dismiss all current claims against the defendants — such as Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II and three sheriff’s deputies — and forgo any future claims arising from Brown's death, AP reports.
- Brown's children will receive the proceeds of the settlement as his heirs, the sheriff's office said, per AP.
- Pasquotank County sheriff's office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
What they're saying: “While no settlement could ever fill the hole his death left in their hearts, this agreement is about providing for those children’s futures, securing their education and ensuring their dreams didn’t die with their father," the five attorneys representing Brown's family said in a statement, per AP.
- The sheriff's office told WITN that the county's insurance policy and Pasquotank County will pay the $3 million payment "to resolve any and all potential liability against the defendants and any individual officers who were or could be named as defendants in the lawsuit."
Catch up quick: Brown was shot and killed on April 21, 2021, by the Pasquotank County sheriff's deputies while they were issuing drug warrants at his home.
- The officers fired a number of shots into Brown's vehicle, per AP. He died from a bullet to the back of the head.
- The family of Brown filed the $30 million civil rights lawsuit last year, saying Brown died because the officers had “intentional and reckless disregard of his life," Axios' Shawna Chen writes.
The big picture: There have been a number of civil rights lawsuits in response to recent police killings of Black people.
- Back in March 2021, George Floyd's family agreed to a $27 million settlement with the city of Minneapolis.
- Louisville, Kentucky, agreed to pay Breonna Taylor's family $12 million and rework police practices as a part of a settlement deal.
