The family of a 13-year-old girl who died after a Cleveland Police chase in December 2019 held a news conference Monday to announce a settlement with the city.
According to the family's attorney, the $4.8 million settlement is the largest police chase settlement in the city's history.
"No other family should have to go through this tragedy," attorney Stanley Jackson said.
Watch the news conference below:
Tamia Chappman and her friends were walking along the sidewalk on Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland when investigators said that the driver of a stolen SUV that was taken at gunpoint crashed and killed Chappman. Cleveland Police were chasing the SUV. The teenage driver hit another car and then drove onto the sidewalk, killing Chappman and severely injuring a friend.
Investigators with the city's Office of Professional Standards said police were justified in pursuing the SUV after it was stolen at gunpoint from a woman in the parking lot of a Target store on West 117th Street. However, investigators found the pursuit hit unsafe speeds shortly before the crash and should have been terminated.
The City of Cleveland released a statement about the settlement:
"The City’s decision to settle this case was an extremely difficult one. The police pursuit in question was initiated due to a violent armed carjacking of an innocent 72-year-old woman outside of a grocery store. The criminals were quickly identified and cowardly chose to flee from police leading to the tragic death of an innocent 13-year-old girl. They were arrested, later convicted of crimes related to both incidents, and are currently serving decades-long prison sentences.
On one hand, you have police officers who were trying to do their job to remove violent armed individuals from the streets so they couldn’t victimize more people and commit additional violent crimes. On the other hand, a 13-year-old girl was tragically killed leaving her family, friends, and entire community in heartbreak.
The City had to consider all relevant factors prior to this outcome, including a potential trial and additional costs, but we want to be clear that there are no winners or losers in a case as tragic as this one and – while it is easy to point fingers one way or another – the fact remains that if the armed carjacker never committed that crime then Tamia would still be here with us today.
Additionally, it would be inaccurate to suggest that the City has not made any progress under the consent decree since this incident, as the Division of Police received upgraded compliance from the independent Monitoring Team in 35 benchmarks – equating to a 400% net increase – just last year, which includes improvements in Use of Force, Accountability, and numerous other categories. We look forward to building on that progress in the months to come."
In 2021, Cleveland's Civilian Police Review Board recommended discipline for two police officers and two police supervisors involved in the chase.
RELATED: Review board recommends discipline for police in chase that ended with death of Tamia Chappman
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