City to pay family of Ohio man killed by police $500K

Cleveland will pay $500,000 to the family of a man fatally shot by police in 2010 when he quickly raised his hand inside a dimly lit basement.

Cleveland.com reports the settlement agreement Tuesday comes less than two weeks before the start of a trial in a civil rights lawsuit filed by Danny Withers’ relatives.

Court records say Detective Daniel Zola shot Withers, a bank robbery suspect, when another detective opened a closet door where Withers hid.

The lawsuit was filed in 2011 and dismissed by a judge in 2015. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a jury should decide a dispute over how quickly Zola fired.

Cleveland argued Zola thought Withers, who was unarmed, was going to shoot him.

The city didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

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Information from: cleveland.com, http://www.cleveland.com