City Council President's Statement on proposed settlement agreement with family of Freddie C. Gray Jr.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        
Contact: Lester Davis

Tuesday, September 8, 2015    
410-396-4804 (office)

 
443-835-0784 (mobile)

City Council President's Statement on proposed settlement agreement with family of Freddie C. Gray Jr.

BALTIMORE, MD – "“As the chair of the Board of Estimates and head of the City Council, I take my role as fiscal guardian on behalf of the taxpaying citizens of Baltimore City very seriously.

My vote today in favor of approving a settlement agreement with the family and estate of Mr. Freddie C. Gray Jr., should not be taken as a guilty verdict against the six officers who face charges related to his arrest. These officers are innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.

My duty, as a legislator and fiscal agent, is to consider the costs associated with litigating a potential civil suit and to decide whether it’s in the best interest of taxpayers to pursue a settlement or a protracted court case.
After meeting Friday with attorneys for the City of Baltimore, I agreed that litigation in federal court, where judgments are uncapped, could cost taxpayers millions of dollars to defend, and might result in an award that could dwarf today’s $6.4 million settlement agreement.

I do not take lightly this expenditure of funds. As someone who has spent my career speaking frankly about the millions of dollars that taxpayers are forced to pay on behalf of officers who are accused of violating the civil rights of citizens, I understand very well that these funds won’t be available to invest in proactive programming that benefits the majority of citizens.

I am responsible for guarding the city’s finances and am not willing to gamble on a civil case that could have resulted in payments far in excess of the agreed upon amount.”

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