$900,000 settlement – wrongful death shooting

Our client was the mother of a young man who had stolen a car.  When spotted by the police, the young man engaged in a high speed chase.  After crashing the stolen car, he took off on foot attempting to flee.  A police officer fired several shots at the young man from inside his police car.  The young man was unarmed and was scaling a fence with his back to the officer when he was fatally shot.  A federal civil rights case was brought by John Elliott Leighton on behalf of the man’s mother against the police department for the young man’s wrongful death. Leighton proved that the man was unarmed, was running away from the police, and that the police officer violated policies when he fired from a police car. The case was settled for $900,000.

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