In 2016, Alton Sterling, who an autopsy showed had
in him what experts
called a dangerous combination of substances, some illegal, underwent a
minutes-long struggle with police after they had responded to reports he had
threatened somebody. Unfortunately, acting in a way that experts
said reflected subpar procedure but an understandable fear for their safety,
one of the two white police officers trying to control Sterling fatally shot
him.
Given these dynamics of the incident, authorities
didn’t charge either officer with a crime, concluding their actions not
unreasonable. However, his children – five, from different mothers; he never
was married – already had launched a civil
lawsuit against the city for wrongful death, blaming the city for allegedly
not having a written policy for use of deadly force, claiming it tolerated “racist
behavior” among its police, and that it didn’t vet adequately the hiring of the
two officers.
Any award wouldn’t go to the three mothers, but
would be administered on behalf of the minority children. The one who is of age,
accused
of raping a child but declared mentally incompetent, at present presumably
also would have any award administered by the judicial system.
Set to go for trial in 2021, last
year both sides (the city-parish used outside counsel) met with a mediator,
from which they agreed a sum of $5 million would go to the plaintiffs. City-parish
attorneys did not admit to any fault on behalf of the city and said although going
to trial might end up costing more than settling despite the city’s lack of
culpability, this figure was too much, saying that a municipality should need
to pay up only $1 million in damages under existing law
The money would come from the city’s insurance
reserve fund. As for that offer, the city-parish attorneys said Council action occurred
suddenly without any real consultation with them.
Despite that, a number of Democrats on the Council
asserted that making the offer of judgment would avoid a potentially larger
payout and that the city before has settled such lawsuits against officers.
Republicans (except for Councilor Chandler Loupe,
who had been a leader of making this particular deal) questioned the process
that led to the offer amount, wondered whether it represented a good deal for
taxpayers, and argued that a trial would create the best resolution.
All five Democrats plus Loupe voted for the
measure while five Republicans voted against, with Republican interim Councilor
Jennifer Racca
abstaining. Without a simple majority, the motion
failed.
To the benefit of taxpayers. The sore-loser lawyers
behind the suit patronizingly said too many councilors “had no clue” about the case,
but this rhetoric disguises their need for this Hail Mary maneuver to salvage a
weak case. City-parish attorneys echoed this perception in their advice, seeming
confident in their recommendation to pursue a much lower settlement amount.
Just because elites have attempted to foist a “systemic racism” canard
to poison the culture or that poorly-managed
cities roll over doesn’t mean Baton Rouge must follow.
Citizens should applaud the six councilors who had
their back, and let the process play out to an appropriate conclusion. However,
the wisdom of Loupe and the Council Democrats they need to question.
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