Devin Brown Update: $1.5 million tentative settlement

The Los Angeles Times reported in Thursday's California section that the City of Los Angeles has reached a tentative million-dollar settlement of the civil lawsuit filed by the mother of a 13-year old African American boy shot to death by a latino LAPD officer in February 2005.

The city of Los Angeles has reached a tentative financial settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit over the police killing of 13-year-old Devin Brown. Officials declined to disclose the sum that would go to Brown's mother, Evelyn Davis, but three sources familiar with the case said it was at least $1.5 million. Officer Steven Garcia shot Brown on Feb. 6, 2005, in South Los Angeles, as the boy backed a stolen Toyota Camry toward a police car about 4 a.m. at the end of a brief car chase. Police said that Brown was driving erratically and that they suspected him of drunk driving. Garcia fired 10 shots, hitting the youth seven times. [...] The settlement was reached Tuesday as attorneys prepared for an April 24 trial date, court records show. The City Council is scheduled to consider approving the settlement July 1. [...] The Los Angeles Police Commission ruled in February that Garcia violated departmental rules and should face possible discipline for the shooting. Investigators estimated that Brown was driving 10 to 12 mph when he scraped the passenger side of Garcia's cruiser, and 2 mph or less when the officer, who had scrambled out of the way of the car, opened fire. When he fired, Garcia was standing to the side of the car and not in its path, the commission found. Police Chief William J. Bratton had come to the opposite conclusion, saying Brown's vehicle threatened Garcia's life. Prosecutors also rejected criminal charges, citing self-defense. The Brown family lawsuit said Garcia was never in danger, and it alleged negligence in the city's hiring, training and supervision of the officer. After the teenager's death, the Police Commission imposed restrictions on shooting at moving vehicles. Officers must first 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.

Well, the one good thing to come out of this horrific incident is 1) A Police Commission with cojones; 2) A more sensible LAPD policy on shooting moving vehicles; and 3) Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa! In addition, the halos around the heads of District Attorny Steve Cooley and Police Chief William Bratton have been tarnished by their incomprehensible decisions and conclusions in the Devin Brown case.