Post by Logan on Feb 11, 2016 22:26:17 GMT -6
West Seneca insurers to pay $4.65 million for police shooting of unarmed man
Long before “hands up, don’t shoot” became a rallying cry against police violence, Jeffrey J. Edwards put his hands up, hoping police in West Seneca would not shoot. But they did.
One of the bullets hit behind his left ear, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down and in a bed for the rest of his life. He died of heart failure four years later, in June 2014. He was 46.
After several rounds of mediation, insurers for the Town of West Seneca have agreed to pay $4.65 million to settle a lawsuit Edwards filed before his death. After his lawyers collect their share and reimburse Medicaid and Medicare for the medical bills, the Edwards estate will net nearly $2.4 million.
While the lawsuit alleged that West Seneca police were negligent, careless and reckless, out-of-court settlements do not confirm wrongdoing on anyone’s part. Supervisor Sheila M. Meegan said the town did everything it could to protect its interests, and she noted that a grand jury cleared its officers of criminal wrongdoing.
Read more: www.buffalonews.com/city-region/west-seneca-insurers-to-pay-465-million-for-police-shooting-of-unarmed-man-20160211
Long before “hands up, don’t shoot” became a rallying cry against police violence, Jeffrey J. Edwards put his hands up, hoping police in West Seneca would not shoot. But they did.
One of the bullets hit behind his left ear, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down and in a bed for the rest of his life. He died of heart failure four years later, in June 2014. He was 46.
After several rounds of mediation, insurers for the Town of West Seneca have agreed to pay $4.65 million to settle a lawsuit Edwards filed before his death. After his lawyers collect their share and reimburse Medicaid and Medicare for the medical bills, the Edwards estate will net nearly $2.4 million.
While the lawsuit alleged that West Seneca police were negligent, careless and reckless, out-of-court settlements do not confirm wrongdoing on anyone’s part. Supervisor Sheila M. Meegan said the town did everything it could to protect its interests, and she noted that a grand jury cleared its officers of criminal wrongdoing.
Read more: www.buffalonews.com/city-region/west-seneca-insurers-to-pay-465-million-for-police-shooting-of-unarmed-man-20160211