$1.7M Lawsuit Settlement In Police Shooting Of Mentally Ill Man
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento County will pay $1.725 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed after deputies killed a mentally ill black man.
Mikel Laney McIntyre was shot by Sacramento County sheriff's deputies in May 2017. An attorney for McIntyre's mother announced the settlement on Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Officers fired 28 rounds at the 32-year-old during rush hour traffic on a major highway. McIntyre had been undergoing a mental health crisis and threw large rocks at deputies, hitting one in the head, before trying to run away.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Tess Deterding said attorneys for Sacramento County found the settlement to be "reasonable in light of exposure to future costs related to preparation and litigation."
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The shooting resulted in a critical August 2018 county inspector general's report, which said deputies fired an "excessive, unnecessary" number of rounds. Protests targeted the county's leadership after the sheriff retaliated against the then-inspector general by locking him out of agency offices and the jail.
His death was one of numerous slayings of minority men by police nationwide that triggered a broad debate and several California laws.
Six months before that critical report, Sacramento police shot and killed a 22-year-old unarmed black man, Stephon Clark. Police said they believed Clark was carrying a firearm but investigators concluded he only had a cell phone.
