$4.5M Settlement Offered in Police Shooting of Alton Sterling in Louisiana February 17, 2021
After a $5 million proposed settlement fell through, officials in a Louisiana parish are now offering $4.5 million to settle the civil lawsuit brought by the family of Alton Sterling, a Black man who was killed in 2016 by police who approached him while he was selling homemade CDs in front of a convenience store.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council voted 7-4 in favor of offering the multimillion-dollar settlement to the family of Alton Sterling, news outlets reported.
Sterling’s death had inflamed racial tensions in Louisiana’s capital, cast a national spotlight on the history of strained relations between police and Black residents of Baton Rouge and sparked widespread protests.
Title: Victor Trammell for Your Black World | Photo credits: The Chicago Crusader/Family of Alton Sterling
Alton Sterling (pictured right) was brutally killed by Baton Rouge, Louisiana police over four years ago.
Not a single person was ever held legally accountable in court for killing Sterling, a 37-year-old father. Now the East Baton Rouge Metro Council in Louisiana has voted on a $4.5 million settlement for his family.
According to ABC, the city council voted 7-4 in favor of the settlement after Sterling’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the municipality and its Baton Rouge Police Department.
“I am pleased our metro council was able to find a consensus and approve an offer of settlement in the Alton Sterling civil case. After nearly five years, the people of Baton Rouge are finally one step closer to getting much-needed closure in this traumatic episode in our history,” Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement,
Baton Rouge offers settlement to family of Alton Sterling five years after police fatally shot Black man KATE FELDMAN
The East Baton Rouge Metro Council in Louisiana voted Wednesday night to offer a $4.5 million settlement for the family of Alton Sterling, a Black man shot and killed by police in 2016.
The council voted 7-4 to approve the offer to settle the wrongful death lawsuit brought against the city and the Baton Rouge Police Department.
“I am pleased our metro council was able to find a consensus and approve an offer of settlement in the Alton Sterling civil case. After nearly five years, the people of Baton Rouge are finally one step closer to getting much needed closure in this traumatic episode in our history,” Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement.
The settlement passed by a vote of 7 to 4.
This resolution stems from the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the city and the BRPD by the family of Alton Sterling.
Last year, similar talks of a $5 million settlement fell short of the necessary votes.
Even though the council voted and approved a settlement, the family would have to accept the offer. It is not known yet if Sterling s family will agree to the offer.
Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome posted the following statement to social media:
I am pleased our metro council was able to find a consensus and approve an offer of settlement in the Alton Sterling civil case. After nearly five years, the people of Baton Rouge are finally one step closer to getting much-needed closure in this traumatic episode in our history. Now we must continue the work of building a more fair and equitable community, where every citizen is treated justly, no matter their race or ethnicity.