Fairfax County, Maryland has agreed to a $2 million dollar settlement from an unarmed man being shot and killed by police. In 2006, a Fairfax County police officer shot an unarmed man in front of his townhouse. The man was being arrested by a SWAT team for betting on football games when the officer claimed his gun accidently discharged and killed the man. The police officer was never charged with a crime, and the prosecutor’s office deemed it an accidental shooting.
This type of case here in Kentucky would be a civil right violation and negligence action. Such a case in Kentucky where a person was wrongfully shot and killed by a police officer would be a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the Estate of the deceased, where the Estate would be able to claim damages from the medical bills related to the shooting and the lost lifetime earning capacity of the deceased. Additionally, if the decedent had a wife or children, then there would be a claim for loss of consortium by such family members.
In Kentucky, in wrongful death suits, the damages that can be sought will likely reach over a million dollars due to the claim for a lifetime of lost wages.