Judge Approves $20M Settlement For Justine Ruszczyk Damond's Family
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The largest police settlement in Minneapolis history has been approved.
On Tuesday, a City of Minneapolis representative confirmed that state district court Judge Mary Vasaly approved the $20 million settlement with the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond.
Of that settlement, the distribution is as follows: $5.7 million goes to Justine Ruszczyk Damond's brother, Jason Ruszczyk, $5 million to her father, John Ruszczyk, and $1 million to her fiancé, Donald Damond. Approximately $6.3 million goes to attorneys' fees.
Another $2 million goes to the Fund for Safe Communities at the Minneapolis Foundation. The fund is a program to fight gun violence in the city.
Related: Read The Entire Settlement Document (.pdf)
The Ruszczyk family says they wanted the amount of the settlement to be "transformational." The money used to pay the Ruszczyk family will come from the city's self-insurance fund.
Ruszczyk Damond was shot and killed by then-officer Mohamed Noor in 2017. A jury found Noor guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced that the settlement was reached on May 3.
Frey along with Bob Bennett, the attorney for the Ruszczyk family, said they don't believe race or gender played a role in the record settlement. Bennett told reporters that every case and every circumstance is different.
The Minneapolis Police Federation also released a statement, saying: "The Federation commends city leadership on reaching a quick settlement, and moving forward in the healing process. We strongly disagree on some blanket statements made by council members on the false narrative of police violence. This was an isolated incident, and we have an excellent police force."
