The family of a woman that was shot through the window of car as she attempted to flee from a policeman, has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the city of Culpeper for $300,000, as reported by the Star Exponent News from VA.
The city's insurance company will be paying the debt. The woman that was killed in the incident February 2012, P.C., 54, was a local housewife. Attorney fees and expenses will be paid in the sum of $129,698, P.C.'s mother will receive $2,000 and P.C.'s half brother will receive $168,301. The settlement will also be used to pay Medicare liens that resulted from P.C.'s injuries.
The suit originally sought $5 million in damages.
P.C. was killed by D.H.W., 34, while he was working on-duty as an officer with the Culpeper Police Department. D.H.W., a former U.S. Marine and a veteran of the Iraqi war, has since been found guilty of manslaughter and is currently serving three years in prison.
According to court records, D.H.W. has agreed to the settlement while not "in anyway admitting negligence liability on its part."
There are a total of three wrongful death cases filed in the P.C. killing. The judge will settle all three at the same time. The three separate defendants are lists as D.H.W., the current police chief of Culpeper and its former police chief.
The two police chiefs have been named due to their failure to properly train D.H.W., as well as for wrongful retention and wrongful hiring.
On the morning of February 9, 2012 P.C. was sitting in a Jeep in the parking lot of Epiphany Catholic School. An official of the school had contacted the police and reported her as a suspicious person.
Officer D.H.W. arrived on scene and allegedly had a conversation with P.C. During his criminal case D.H.W. claimed that during their discussion P.C. said she was going to either hurt or kill him, or others that were in her car. He further explained that this was the reason he felt compelled to stop her by shooting her. However, witnesses said that the officer did not appear to be in danger at any time.
During his failed appeal the court records state "(D.H.W.) fired his gun through the driver's side window twice, striking (P.C.) in her face and chest. (P.C.) continued driving away and exited the parking lot. (D.H.W.) then stepped into the roadway behind (P.C.'s) car and fired five more shots. Two of the bullets struck the victim, one in her head and the other in her back. A police officer cannot kill unless there is a necessity for it, and the jury must determine upon the testimony of the existence or absence of the necessity…here, the record supports the jury's conclusion that (D.H.W.) acted unlawfully when he shot into (P.C.'s) vehicle, killing her."
The attorney representing the family in the wrongful death suit, Greg Webb, commented "A case like this carries a heavy human cost on the family, especially when those at fault refuse to acknowledge their role and fight every step of the way…"
Contact a personal injury lawyer to file a wrongful death lawsuit if your loved one has died due to the actions of another party. A monetary award could be made to cover medical expenses, attorney's fees and other damages.