DC settles lawsuit in fatal police shooting for record $3.5M

WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia has reached a $3.5 million settlement with the family of an unarmed black motorcyclist who was shot and killed by a Metropolitan Police Department officer during an attempted arrest for reckless driving.

News outlets report the settlement follows a December 2017 report from a police review board that found the 2016 shooting of 31-year-old Terrence Sterling “unjustified.” The U.S. Attorney’s office had cleared Officer Brian Trainer of criminal wrongdoing in summer.

Sterling’s family’s attorney Hassan Murphy says the review board’s findings marked a “dramatic turn” in the wrongful-death lawsuit.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement Wednesday that the city has sought to “illuminate what went wrong” and bring closure.

This is the largest settlement the city’s paid in a fatal shooting by a police officer.