The Denver suburb of Aurora has agreed to pay the family a $1.9 million settlement after a 2020 police officer pulled a gun on a woman and four minors who he mistook for a stolen car. Immediately after the incident, a video of the group lying on the ground went viral online.
The family, all black, were seen lying on the sidewalk in the parking lot, and the driver, Brittney Gilliam, was seen handcuffed and being led away from the minor by police.
Gillum’s 12-year-old sister and 17-year-old niece were handcuffed and lying on the sidewalk. Her 6-year-old daughter and 14-year-old niece were also seen lying face down in the parking lot. Children could be heard crying and screaming as onlookers tried to intervene by asking police questions.
Lovely Gilliam, 6, left, looks up at a police officer lying in a parking lot after she and her family were unfairly removed from a car in Aurora, Colorado, on August 2, 2020. The car Britney Gilliam was driving was stolen. (Aurora Police Department, via AP)
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Amid shouts and cries, the police soon realized their mistake.
Officers later determined that the vehicle they were searching had the same license plate number as Gillum’s, but was from out of state. The missing vehicle had a Montana license plate, not a Colorado license plate. Police also said the mix-up may be related to the fact that Gillum’s car was stolen earlier this year and later recovered.
The family’s attorney, David Lane, announced Monday that the lawsuit alleges the officers’ actions were evidence of “serious and systemic” racism.
Lane said the settlement spared the girls the trauma of having to relive what happened during the trial and that the money
“All parties are very pleased with this settlement,” Lane said. Who added that the money would be split evenly between Gilliam and the four girls, and their share would go toward their pensions, so the money would grow by the time they access it when they turn 18.
The city confirmed in a written statement that an agreement had been reached.
Four girls lie face down in a parking lot after being unfairly removed from a car in Aurora, Colorado, on August 2, 2020. (Aurora Police Department, via AP)
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“The Aurora Police Department remains committed to strengthening our relationships with the community through accountability and continually improving our services to the public.”
For the first year, Gilliam said she was filled with anger and anger as she was unable to do anything to help the girls during encounters with police.
“I was emotionally devastated because I felt like not only was I not safe, but these children were not safe,” she said in an interview before the settlement was announced.
Gilliam said she was taking the girls to get their nails done when she pulled over to find a salon that was open. When police surrounded her car, she offered to show her registration to prove she was the car’s owner, but she said they first handcuffed her. . The incident comes more than two months after George Floyd’s death, which sparked protests and riots across the country.
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The settlement also represents the latest payment Aurora has had to make following police misconduct.
In 2021, the city reached a $15 million settlement with the parents of Elijah McClain, a Black man who died in 2019 after being stopped while walking down the street. Police placed the man in a neck restraint and injected him with a sedative. One police officer was also found guilty of the death, while the other two were acquitted. Two paramedics were also found guilty.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
