Fine--if that is what citizens want. But this week county officials are meeting to deal with the lawsuit by the dead boy's parents. It took five years to get this far, but at last the county has to face what it and the sheriff sanctioned and rewarded. So far this year the county has coughed up 3.6 million dollar of our money to people with civil rights lawsuits. I'm talking about tax money that might have been used to repair roads or buy supervisors new swivel chairs.
I want to see the Lopez family paid for their incredible pain. They were cheated out of seeing Andy Lopez grow up and become a better man than the law enforcers and supervisors who abruptly ended his childhood. But damn the sheriffs and supervisors and voters who made this happen--and now we get to pay for their heartless cowardice.
Apparently my comment on the killing of Andy Lopez was removed by someone on Facebook with the power to censor me and cover for errors in criminal justice.
In any case, Sonoma County has agreed to pay the parents of Andy Lopez 3 million dollars of taxpayer money. The county and sheriff still refuse to accept any blame for their training and shoot first policies. "A county spokeswoman said the $3 million settlement, which the board unanimously approved in a closed-door session, includes legal fees but does not admit liability or fault on the behalf of the county.
"Andy’s tragic death five years ago was a heartbreaking moment for the entire community," said James Gore, chair of the Board of Supervisors, in a statement. "The settlement today is a moment to move forward in the healing process."
Not really. Andy Lopez is still dead. James Gore may feel healed, but how much did he care to start with?
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