ATTY. CRUMP REACHES
SETTLEMENT FOR RALEIGH
POLICE DEATH
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Atty. Ben Crump has done it again! This time in North Carolina.
The man many call the “attorney general of Black America” because of his successful legal advocacy for the black families of victims of police abuse, has settled another police wrongful death lawsuit, this time with the Raleigh Police Dept. for the 2023 taser death of Darryl “Tyree” Williams, 32, by Raleigh police officers on Jan. 17, 2023. By agreement dated December 1st, the city will pay Williams’ mother, Sonya, $975,000 to drop her two year-old $25 million federal lawsuit against the Raleigh Police Dept. for the death of her son.
In her lawsuit, Sonya Williams accused Raleigh police officers of killing her son by repeatedly shocking him with a Taser, in addition to violating his constitutional rights. The lawsuit also accused city officials of ignoring a pattern of police excessive force accusations.
The city, however, admitted to nothing per Ms. Williams’ accusations. In other words, it was not an admission of guilt. Instead, from the city of Raleigh’s standpoint, the settlement was a business transaction to stop the litigation and end the case.
The settlement was “…guided solely by its estimates of its anticipated and unavoidable legal expenses.”It is the second largest known Raleigh police excessive force financial settlement since 2012.
The city will pay part of the settlement, while the city of Raleigh’s insurer’s will pay the balance.
Darryl Williams was reportedly trying to run from Raleigh police officers in a parking lot in Southeast Raleigh after an officer reportedly found a folded a folded dollar bill with white powder in his pocket. Williams was tased three times and handcuffed, even though Williams reported begged officers not to do so because he had a heart condition.
Police alleged in their report that they found two firearms and “suspected controlled substances” in Williams’ car.
A federal judge dismissed several claims from the original lawsuit against the city, but kept claims alleging that Raleigh police officers were not trained properly on how and when to use their tasers.
At press time, attorney Crump issued no comment about the settlement.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, this almost million dollar settlement mirrors similar payments to 49 people and the families of alleged victims of police abuse since 2012 where the city of Raleigh has denied any culpability or liability in the excessive force actions of the Raleigh Police Dept., to the tune of a total of $5.4 million.
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