Baltimore Will Pay Freddie Gray's Family A $6.4 Million Settlement

The city of Baltimore will tentatively pay the family of Freddie Gray $6.4 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the settlement is expected to be approved when the city's five-member spending panel meets on Wednesday, nearly six months after the 25-year-old died in police custody.

The payout by the administration of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is being referred to as rare and surprisingly large, partially because it far exceeds the larger payouts of over 120 brutality and misconduct lawsuits against Baltimore police since 2011.

Gray was reportedly carrying a knife when he was arrested on April 12 for a weapons charge and placed in a police van. He allegedly complained about his health several times but was not given medical care.

Somewhere along the ride, Gray suffered a critical injury to his spine leading to his death.

Six officers were charged with 2nd-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office, according to Yahoo! News.

Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter were additionally charged with manslaughter, but only Officer Caesar Goodson faces 2nd-degree murder.

A statement from Rawlings-Blake's administration says the settlement, which consists of two separate payments, is in no way an admittance of the officers' guilt.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the statement says,

The proposed settlement agreement going before the Board of Estimates should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial. This settlement is being proposed solely because it is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages.

The settlement was reached approximately a week after the first hearing for the officers' criminal cases.

All of the officers pleaded not guilty.

Citations: Baltimore to pay Freddie Gray's family $6.4 million to settle civil claims (The Baltimore Sun), Freddie Gray's family settles with city for $6.4M (Yahoo News)