Settlement near in civil suit over death of Michael Brown

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

June 20--FERGUSON -- The family of Michael Brown, the city of Ferguson, former Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson and former police Officer Darren Wilson are nearing settlement of a lawsuit over Brown's 2014 fatal shooting by Wilson, the Post-Dispatch has learned.

The settlement has not yet been finalized or approved by a judge.

A person familiar with the settlement negotiations said that a settlement was close, however, and that it would be for less than $3 million.

It's not clear how much less, but $3 million is the limit of the city's insurance.

There was a conference call with the judge and lawyers about the case June 8, but the summary of the call has been sealed.

The Brown family lawyers filed a sealed document June 10.

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On Friday, lawyers for the city's insurance company filed their own motion supporting the Brown family motion to seal documents. In a memo, the city's lawyers also asked that any "proceedings" connected with the family's motion be sealed, "including any hearings or conferences."

Another conference call happened Monday morning, court records show.

Any settlement, once finalized, would have to be made public under Missouri's open records law.

Anthony Gray, a lawyer for the family, said Friday that the case was still in limbo, but that the parties would "hopefully resolve it."

"That's always a goal," he said later.

Asked why lawyers would try to close the courtroom to the public, Gray said, "There's more to it than that, but I just can't comment."

Lawyers for the Ferguson defendants declined to comment Monday.

Ferguson City Attorney Apollo Carey also declined to comment.

Brown's parents, Lezley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr., filed the lawsuit in May 2015, about nine months after their son's death on Aug. 9, 2014. The suit claims that a culture of pervasive hostility toward African-Americans led to the death of the 18-year-old. It said Wilson used excessive and unreasonable force, and Wilson and other officers were poorly trained. The suit sought unspecified damages.

McSpadden's first name is spelled Lesley in court documents.

A grand jury did not indict Wilson in Brown's death. The Justice Department declined to prosecute him, saying evidence and "credible" witnesses supported Wilson's version of the event.

Wilson claimed that Brown attacked him in his police vehicle and then shot Wilson in the hand.

Brown ran from the vehicle, then turned back and advanced toward Wilson, the report said, coming within 8 to 10 feet when Wilson shot him six to eight times.

A critical Justice Department report on the Ferguson police department, however, found a "pattern and practice of unlawful conduct" including excessive use of force and the targeting of African-Americans.

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