The city of Ferguson has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the parents of Michael Brown.
NBC News reports:
The insurance company for the city of Ferguson, Missouri, paid $1.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Michael Brown’s parents, the city attorney said Friday.
Attorney Apollo Carey disclosed the amount in an email in response to an open records request. The settlement of the federal lawsuit was announced Tuesday, but financial details were not initially released.
Former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed the unarmed 18-year old Brown in 2014, claiming that Brown attacked him and that he feared for his life. He was cleared of any wrongdoing by a grand jury, leading to days of protests.
Brown’s parents Michael Brown Sr. and Lezley McSpadden filed a wrongful death suit after that ruling, suing the city, former Police Chief Tom Jackson and Wilson in 2015. The suit claimed that Ferguson police’s culture of being hostile to black residents led to Wilson using excessive force and killing Brown. Brown’s parent’s will split the money, walking away with $750,000 that will never bring their son back.
To offer more context on this payout, Brown and McSpadden had to lose their son and wait two years to get this money. Meanwhile, Wilson killed someone and made more than $300,000 in less than a month thanks to supporters creating crowdfuning campaigns to cover his legal costs and living expenses after losing his job. It was also rumored that he was paid handsomely for his exclusive interview with ABC News.
Warner Bros. recently obtained the rights to film a movie about Brown’s life. The movie will be based on McSpadden’s 2016 book Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil: The Life, Legacy, and Love of My Son Michael Brown.
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