By Victor Omondi
The family of Alton Sterling, a Black man who was shot by police in Louisiana, has accepted a $4.5 million settlement nearly five years after his death.
Sterling, a 37-year-old father of five, was killed on July 5, 2016, by Baton Rouge police officers outside a convenience store. Lawyers for Sterling’s children filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, the city’s police department, a former police chief, and the two officers involved in June 2017 shooting.
The shooting, captured on video, sparked anger and protests in the city’s Black community.
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Sterling’s family issued a statement Friday confirming acceptance of the settlement after news outlets reported that court documents showed they had moved a motion to have the suit dismissed last month. The settlement had been approved earlier in the year by the Metro Council for Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish.
The officer who shot Sterling was fired in March 2018. He appealed that decision, and in 2019, he was allowed to withdraw his termination and resign retroactively instead.
The officer who helped wrestle Sterling to the ground was suspended for three days. Neither was criminally charged.
“This settlement, which was reached through hard work and collaboration between attorneys for Mr. Sterling’s family and the Baton Rouge City Council, will allow the city to heal and provide a pathway for Mr. Sterling’s children to be provided for financially,” lawyers for the family said in a statement Friday.
