BALTIMORE (AP) — Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and members of the Board of Estimates approved a $6.4 million settlement with the family of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died a week after he was critically injured while in police custody.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement could play a role in whether a judge decides to move the trials for the six officers charged in Gray’s death out of the city.
Rawlings-Blake acknowledged that a settlement before criminal proceedings were resolved was unusual but said it was in the best interest of protecting taxpayers.
The head of Baltimore’s police union disagreed.
“To suggest that there is any reason to settle prior to the adjudication of the pending criminal cases is obscene and without regard to the fiduciary responsibility owed to the taxpaying citizens of the city,” Lt. Gene Ryan said in a statement.
All six officers, including Edward Nero and Garrett Miller, are charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter also face a manslaughter charge, while Officer Caesar Goodson faces the most serious charge of all: second-degree “depraved-heart” murder.
