Family Of Korryn Gaines Joined By Rev. Al Sharpton On Wednesday For Hearing, Calls For Justice In The Case
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Attorneys representing Baltimore County and the family of Korryn Gaines were back in court Wednesday for a scheduling conference as the family awaits payment awarded to them by a Baltimore County jury.
A Baltimore County police officer fatally shot Gaines during a standoff at her Randallstown apartment in 2016. County 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 armed with a shotgun during the standoff. Her five-year-old son was also wounded during the shooting.
"Baltimore County has put my healing process on hold," Gaines' mother Rhanda Dormeus said Wednesday outside court. "My family self-destructed when my daughter got killed and they won't let us build again."
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger declined to charge any officer in Gaines' death, but in 2018, a county jury awarded her family $38 million in a civil judgment. Since then, a circuit court judge overturned the jury's decision in 2019 and an appeals court reinstated the verdict in 2020.
"Korryn Gaines is gone. She's not coming back. The award is to protect these babies," said J. Wyndal Gordon, family attorney.
The family has not yet received any money. "We came today to pick up a check, not pick up a date," Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network said Wednesday in Towson. "This is a national disgrace. That's why we need national attention."
The county will file in the coming weeks its offer to the family it believes is the highest amount allowed by law.
In a statement, a Baltimore County spokesperson wrote in part:
"This administration inherited the case following the tragic death of Ms. Gaines, and our focus now is on doing right by the family of Ms. Gaines and, in particular, her children. After years in court, the County made a significant offer to resolve this matter, which reflects the highest amount we believe the court may award under the law."
The case went back to Associate Judge Mickey Norman, the same judge who overturned in 2019 the jury's award.
