The city of Miami has agreed to pay $500,000 to the family of an unarmed 18-year-old fatally shot in the back of the head during police crossfire four years ago, reports the Miami Herald. The settlement, if approved by city commissioners and a federal judge, would be the last in a flurry of bad-shooting lawsuits that have cost Miami taxpayers more than $5 million in the past decade.
Federal indictments, newspaper probes, and community outrage over a spate of questionable shootings prompted a sweeping overhaul at the department — including the resignation of the police chief and the adoption of stun guns as an alternative to bullets. The result: only one fatal Miami police shooting in the past two years. Taxpayers are responsible for $350,000 of the settlement; insurance will cover the remaining $150,000. The victim was a passenger in a vehicle mistakenly identified by police as involved in a carjacking earlier that evening.
Link: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/11077190.htm