My take? The State has plenty of money...they only had one son. Killed because he was riding an ATV in a residential area...tased while riding...at the age of 15....
Family of Teen Who Died After Being Tased Reaches $12 Million Settlement
The family of a 15-year-old who died after a Michigan state trooper stunned him with a Taser has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Michigan State Police for $12 million, a family lawyer said Sunday.
The family of the teenager, Damon Grimes, will receive $7.8 million from the settlement, and family lawyers will receive about $4 million, according to court documents.
“We hope this kind of money will act as a deterrent, but unfortunately it rarely does,” said George Fieger, a lawyer for Damon’s family. Mr. Fieger added that the settlement is the largest ever paid by the Michigan State Police Department for a single incident.
In August 2017, Michigan State troopers followed Damon in their patrol car after they spotted him illegally riding an A.T.V. in a residential area of Detroit. The troopers asked Damon to pull over. When he did not stop immediately, an officer in the passenger seat of the patrol car pulled out his Taser and stunned Damon.
Damon then crashed into the back of a parked truck and died shortly after. Mark Bessner, the police officer who stunned Damon, was suspended and later resigned.
After two trials — the first ended with a hung jury in 2018 — Mr. Bessner was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2019. He was also charged with second-degree murder, but he was not found guilty on that charge.
Mr. Bessner was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison, according to court documents
Family of Teen Who Died After Being Tased Reaches $12 Million Settlement
The family of a 15-year-old who died after a Michigan state trooper stunned him with a Taser has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Michigan State Police for $12 million, a family lawyer said Sunday.
The family of the teenager, Damon Grimes, will receive $7.8 million from the settlement, and family lawyers will receive about $4 million, according to court documents.
“We hope this kind of money will act as a deterrent, but unfortunately it rarely does,” said George Fieger, a lawyer for Damon’s family. Mr. Fieger added that the settlement is the largest ever paid by the Michigan State Police Department for a single incident.
In August 2017, Michigan State troopers followed Damon in their patrol car after they spotted him illegally riding an A.T.V. in a residential area of Detroit. The troopers asked Damon to pull over. When he did not stop immediately, an officer in the passenger seat of the patrol car pulled out his Taser and stunned Damon.
Damon then crashed into the back of a parked truck and died shortly after. Mark Bessner, the police officer who stunned Damon, was suspended and later resigned.
After two trials — the first ended with a hung jury in 2018 — Mr. Bessner was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2019. He was also charged with second-degree murder, but he was not found guilty on that charge.
Mr. Bessner was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison, according to court documents