Kansas City, Mo. To Pay $5 Million Settlement In Police Fatal Shooting Of Black Man
Kansas City, Mo. agreed to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Terrence Bridges Jr., an unarmed Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer responding to a reported carjacking in 2019, The Kansas City Star reported Thursday (Nov. 3).
The police board met privately and approved the settlement, which represents one of the largest sums paid out by the Kansas City Police Department.
“This agreement represents the police department’s acknowledgment of the tragic and significant loss to the family of Terrence Bridges that this incident caused,” the family’s attorney Tom Porto said, according to the Star.
“Despite this tragedy, we recognize that police officers have difficult jobs and are frequently faced with making split-second life or death decisions.The family is grateful that they are now able to put this matter behind them,” Porto added.
The police alleged that Bridges, 30, was shot on May 26, 2019 while resisting arrest from officer Dylan Pifer. The officer told investigators he feared for his life when he thought Bridges was pulling a gun from his pocket. Pifer was not charged.
Bridge’s family has maintained that he was not a threat to the officer, was unarmed and did not steal the car.
KCUR reported that an investigation confirmed that Bridges did not have a gun when Pifer pursued and shot him in the chest. The officer also did not give Bridges any commands during the foot chase.
The settlement is the latest in a series of KCPD payouts in cases involving the use of excessive force. In October, a judge approved a $500,000 settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Brian Prince who died after an officer tackled him in 2017 at a Walmart.
