The family of the seven-year-old Detroit girl who was killed by Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley on May 16, 2010, during a raid that was being filmed by a TV camera crew, has settled their civil suit with the city of Detroit.
Aiyana was shot in the head while sleeping on the couch in her home when Joseph Weekley and other members of an elite police unit burst into the house to search for a murder suspect. During the ensuing chaos, Weekley claimed he accidentally fired his MP-5 submachine gun during a struggle with Aiyana’s grandmother, killing the girl.
According to the Washington Post, Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia announced the multi-million dollar settlement, calling the resolution a “measure of closure.”
“Aiyana’s death was a tragic loss for her family and has been a heavy burden on our community. We believe today’s settlement is fair because it balances the needs of Aiyana’s family and our responsibility for the city’s finances. We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure,” Garcia said in a statement.
Weekley was charged in Aiyana’s death, in June of 2013 but his first trial ended in a hung jury. In a subsequent retrial, Wayne Circuit Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway threw out a manslaughter charge against the officer and the jury failed to reach a verdict on the misdemeanor charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. Prosecutors then declined to retry Weekly for the third time. He was officially restored to active duty with the Detroit Police in April of 2015.
The attorney for Aiyana’s family, Geoffrey Fieger, revealed that the civil case took so long to resolve due to the city’s bankruptcy and appeals. He also said the settlement should allow the family, the city and Weekley to move on from the tragedy. He said the settlement “won’t provide full justice. The only full justice would be to bring Aiyana back and I can’t do that.”
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