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Baltimore Reaches Tentative $6.4 Million Deal With Freddie Gray’s Family

Baltimore’s mayor said the settlement, which will be submitted for a final vote of approval on Wednesday, is not an admission of liability by the city.
Photo by John Taggart/EPA

Baltimore has reached a tentative $6.4 million settlement with the family of Freddie Gray, a black man who died from an injury sustained in police custody, city officials said on Tuesday.

The settlement will be submitted to the Baltimore Board of Estimates for a vote on Wednesday, the office of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a statement, adding that the deal is not an admission of liability by the city.

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The mayor said the settlement will have no effect on the criminal trials of six officers charged with Gray's death in April. His death from a spinal injury sparked protests and rioting, and fueled a US debate about how the police treat minorities. In May, Rawlings-Blake asked the Department of Justice to investigate racial bias in the the Baltimore Police Department. In July, she sacked police Chief Anthony Batts, who was widely criticized for his response to the unrest that followed Gray's death.

Last week, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams ordered individual trials for the officers charged in Gray's death. The charges range from second-degree murder to assault and misconduct.

Related: Baltimore Mayor Wants Federal Investigation Into Police Abuse in the City

On Thursday, Williams will hold a hearing to determine whether the trial should be moved to another venue, away from the predominantly black city of about 620,000 people because of the uproar over Gray's death. Officers arrested Gray, 25, on April 12 after a foot chase in crime-ridden West Baltimore. He was bundled into a transport van while in handcuffs and shackles, and was not secured with a seatbelt.

Gray died a week later from a spinal injury, and a medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. Three of the officers charged are white and three are black.

The city hall statement said Gray's family would be paid $2.8 million in the current fiscal year and $3.6 million in the one starting July 1, 2016. The Board of Estimates controls city finances, and its five members include the mayor.

The payout would be the latest in a long line of settlements by Baltimore over allegations of police brutality. Since 2011, the city has paid a total of $5.7 million in police-related court judgments and settlements, according to the Baltimore Sun.

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