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[GK86]

Link. Didn't see a thread.

The family of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed last year by a St. Anthony, Minnesota police officer, has reached a $3 million settlement with the city, according to a statement from the city and lawyers for the family.

Jeronimo Yanez, who is leaving the force, was acquitted June 16 of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety. Castile was killed July 6 during a traffic stop, and his girlfriend streamed the shooting's aftermath on Facebook Live.

This shit needs to start coming out of their pensions:

Just hours ago, it was announced that the family of Philando Castile will receive a $3 million settlement. Numerous cases of police brutality, from Tamir Rice to Freddie Gray to Walter Scott to Eric Garner, have cost taxpayers.

Between 2004 and 2014, the City of Chicago alone paid out more than $500 million on police misconduct-related lawsuits. Not only do hundreds of other cases remain open in Chicago, but the city has paid out some of its largest settlements ever since those numbers were reported, including a $5 million settlement for shooting victim Laquan McDonald's family. That's one American city that has paid half a billion dollars in police misconduct costs over the course of a decade.

Here in New York City, $228.5 million was spent on police misconduct lawsuits during fiscal year 2016. At that pace, the city would pay out over $1 billion on police misconduct claims in five years. It's absurd. That money could be spent on so many different things to make New York better, but instead it's spent to compensate those who've been wronged by brutal cops.

Again, just considering New York City and Chicago, we're talking about billions of dollars being spent on the costs of police misconduct and brutality — and New York and Chicago represent less than 1% of America's population.

 

[Master Yoshi]

No amount of money will ever justify the outright murder of Castile.


Especially not three fucking million dollars.

Disgusting.

 

[metalslimer]

They deserve far more and the police union should pay it themselves

 

[Media]

No amount of money will ever justify the outright murder of Castile.

This.

I just wish we could start screening and training cops better. Pay them more, make them take the job more seriously, and until they honor it take away their guns or something.

 

[super-heated plasma]

The lawyers get 2 million of it, I'm sure.

 

[Rest]

This.

I just wish we could start screening and training cops better. Pay them more, make them take the job more seriously, and until they honor it take away their guns or something.

The very first thing that needs to happen is police need to be taken out of the DOT/DMV rules enforcement business. States and municipalities need a separate traffic service that's not armed and does not have jurisdiction over anything but vehicle laws. That alone will save lives.

 

[Slayven]

They deserve far more and the police union should pay it themselves

That is exactly where the money should come from, if they started doing that you would see real change

 

[Rest]

The lawyers get 2 million of it, I'm sure.

Lawyers are typically not allowed to take more than 1/3, but that varies. After taxes the family will be looking at less than $1,000,000.

 

[Az]

Lawyers are typically not allowed to take more than 1/3, but that varies. After taxes the family will be looking at less than $1,000,000.

I don't think it's taxable.

 

[SecretMoblin]

St. Anthony is part of the urban core but a tiny city geographically, I wonder how they'll distribute the money. It looks like they aren't even worrying about that, they just want the issue done with ASAP

 

[Unbounded]

*shrug*

They deserve way more, and there's a pretty nice laundry list of things that should definitely be done, but I guess it's better than abso-fucking-lutely nothing.

 

[Beartruck]

So basically, the police were totally in their right to kill that guy but here's 3 million please go away now? The absolute nerve.

 

[Violence Jack]

Have that money come out of the budget of police departments, and maybe you'll start to see some progress.

But no amount of money can compensate his family (especially his daughter and girlfriend) for their loss.

 

[Brazil]

Have that money come out of the budget of police departments, and maybe you'll start to see some progress.

But no amount of money can compensate his family (especially his daughter and girlfriend) for their loss.

That'd actually put those thugs more on edge, risking even more civilian lives.

Fuck the police.

 

[timetokill]

God, it's like some dystopian lottery

Unconscionable that us taxpayers have to pay not only for police brutality on the front end but on the back end as well

 

[Rocket Scientist]

How does this work? The cop is free, but they still have to pay? Good for the family, I just don't get it and don't see it in the OP/too lazy to read the link.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

If it allows them to live comfortably, and gives them the free time to do whatever it is they need to do to take care of themselves and find some peace after having this horror inflicted on them, at least it's something.

I'd rather see the scumbag coward who shot him in jail, though.

 

[Violence Jack]

That'd actually put those thugs more on edge, risking even more civilian lives.

Fuck the police.

I don't think so. If the budget keeps going down due to police brutality, and they suddenly stop getting raises or lose their pensions, maybe then they'd think twice about being trigger happy. I don't care, I just want to see some kind of change.

 

[Kraftwerk]

Between 2004 and 2014, the City of Chicago alone paid out more than $500 million on police misconduct-related lawsuits

jesus.

crazy how they would rather have this kind of conduct continuously happening, and having to pay hundreds of millions of dollars, instead of revamping the police and providing better training and education to the department.

 

[Slayven]

jesus.

crazy how they would rather have this kind of conduct continuously happening, and having to pay hundreds of millions of dollars, instead of revamping the police and providing better training and education to the department.

Like i said people will put in the work to be bigots

 

[Fuchsdh]

The very first thing that needs to happen is police need to be taken out of the DOT/DMV rules enforcement business. States and municipalities need a separate traffic service that's not armed and does not have jurisdiction over anything but vehicle laws. That alone will save lives.

That's an idea I don't think I'd heard of before, but it's not a bad one on the face of it. The reality is that states and municipalities depend on revenue from ticketing and violations, but divorcing that from other police duties would help tamp down on overzealous patrolling as well as reduce the monetary incentives with keeping the current structures.

If these big cities are willing to eat the massive costs of these settlements and shrug, though, I dunno what other recourse their is. Usually money is the easiest way to get people to come around, but they're paying out massive sums and there doesn't seem to be extreme pressure on stopping it. I guess here in NY we'll see what the upcoming candidates for council and mayor have to say.

 

[Tain]

we need real fucking consequences

 

[Sulik2]

jesus.

crazy how they would rather have this kind of conduct continuously happening, and having to pay hundreds of millions of dollars, instead of revamping the police and providing better training and education to the department.

Its not crazy if you look at it from the perspective of the tens of millions of racists in this country. Then its just the yearly operating cost of keeping black people repressed and in their place. And as a bonus a bunch of racist cops get to murder brown people for fun.

The USA has a fundamental divide between the racist and the non-racist and its where most of the problems in this country still stem from.

 

[Arttemis]

I'm blown away at those numbers. For the last two years, I've been wondering how much money municipalities and states were throwing away due to rotten cops and their flagrant abuses...

This number is just so fucking high. Why aren't the spending money on actually TRAINING these cops? I'm getting furious about this as I type. What the fuck is wrong with the people in charge?

 

[Rest]

I don't think it's taxable.

Is it not? How court winnings are taxed isn't something I'm educated on.

 

[Guevara]

Chicago Police Department budget is approximately $1.5B a year

$500M in settlements over ten years = $50M a year

So "only" about 3.3% of their annual budget goes to settlements.

That's the cost of doing business, or an insurance policy, basically. Settlement numbers would have to get way bigger, maybe 10x, to actually force change.

 

[Rest]

That's an idea I don't think I'd heard of before, but it's not a bad one on the face of it.

It's an original idea. I've been thinking for years of writing something up on it, but I don't think it would ever become a reality. Plus I'd need to research a bunch of statistics that I don't know where to look for.

 

[captive]

you would think Republicans would be really annoyed at the amount of tax payer money going to these victims families. But alas, nothing changes.

 

[Skellig Gra]

So basically, the police were totally in their right to kill that guy but here's 3 million please go away now? The absolute nerve.

How does this work? The cop is free, but they still have to pay? Good for the family, I just don't get it and don't see it in the OP/too lazy to read the link.

You are mixing up criminal liability and civil liability.

 

[FyreWulff]

How does this work? The cop is free, but they still have to pay? Good for the family, I just don't get it and don't see it in the OP/too lazy to read the link.

You can be found liable or settle in a civil case even if cleared in a criminal case because civil cases don't work the same way

 

[old]

As long as the tax payers cover the bill, police won't change. They're playing with someone else's money. These settlements need to come out of the pension fund.

 

[CrocMother]

The concept that the taxpayers are paying for these settlements is an aspect I had never thought of.

 

[captive]

You are mixing up criminal liability and civil liability.

yea, but its still not a good look. "he did nothing wrong, heres 3 million bucks"

 

[bootsthecat]

I was always curious about these big payouts when municipalities get sued. Does it typically get tied up in red tape, and the family won't see a penny for years, or paid out quickly after the verdict?

 

[Rest]

yea, but its still not a good look. "he did nothing wrong, heres 3 million bucks"

That's part of why there is a separation between crime and liability. Crimes are committed against the state, and the question is "did you do something wrong that is banned?"

Liability is a measure of responsibility to other people and the question is "did you cause avoidable harm to an individual or group of individuals, and what do you have to do to indemnify them?"

 

[Skellig Gra]

yea, but its still not a good look. "he did nothing wrong, heres 3 million bucks"

True but its better than "you get nothing, kick rocks"

 

[ghostofsparta]

That seems so low...i hate this