Los Angeles officials have reached a tentative settlement of more than $1.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit over the police killing of 13-year-old Devin Brown, reports the Los Angeles Times. The money would go to Brown’s mother, Evelyn Davis. Officer Steven Garcia shot Brown on Feb. 6, 2005 as the boy backed a stolen car toward a police car about 4 a.m. at the end of a brief chase. Police said Brown was driving erratically and that they suspected him of drunk driving. Garcia fired 10 shots, hitting the youth seven times.
The shooting inflamed political and racial tensions. Garcia is Latino and Brown was African American. The death led to significant policy changes in the Los Angeles Police Department, including restrictions on officers’ shooting at moving cars. Officers must try to get out of the way of the vehicle. If that proves impossible, or if there is another deadly threat – a gun – they may shoot.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown13apr13,0,1000289.story?coll=la-home-headlines