Advocates Demand Delivery Of $32M Settlement For Son Of Korryn Gaines
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Community advocates on Wednesday called for Baltimore County to settle a $32 million award to the son of Korryn Gaines.
Attorneys for the county and Gaines' now 10-year-old son will appear in court Friday morning in a continuing legal battle over the record judgment granted by a jury.
A Baltimore County police officer fatally shot Gaines during a standoff at her Randallstown apartment in 2016. Officers were there to serve warrants to Gaines for failure to appear in a misdemeanor case and to her fiancé for an assault charge.
Gaines was reportedly armed with a shotgun during the standoff. Her five-year-old son, Kodi Gaines, was also wounded in the shooting.
The family's lawyer Kenneth Ravenell said Kodie was left emotionally and physically scarred for life in the shooting.
"We all can imagine what this child is going through," Ravenell said. "Not just that he was shot twice, but he watched his mother die in front of him."
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger declined to charge any officer in Gaines' death, but in 2018, a county jury awarded $38 million to the family, $32 million of which went to Kodi Gaines.
Since then, a circuit court judge overturned the jury's decision in 2019 and an appeals court reinstated the verdict in July 2020. A settlement of $3 million was reached for the family of Korryn Gaines for her estate in August, but the jury's $32 million award to Kodi Gaines remains unsettled.
A county spokesperson said they've reached out with a settlement offer, saying they "remained committed to doing right by the family of Korryn Gaines —demonstrated by reaching a resolution with her estate."
There are liability caps for state claims, but attorneys argue those don't apply since this was under a federal statute.
Friday's court hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Rev. Al Sharpton is set to attend with the Gaines family to continue to apply public pressure on the county.