The family of Zachary Hammond, the 19-year-old white teenager who was fatally shot by a Seneca, S.C., police officer last year, has reached a settlement over a wrongful death lawsuit against the city for $2.15 million, their attorney, Eric Bland, announced late Tuesday.
The settlement comes as a federal investigation into the police lieutenants actions continue and represents a near tenfold increase over what city leaders had offered last week.
"There will be no further legal proceedings between the parties," Bland said in a statement. "Rather than endure a lengthy litigation process, both parties agree that an early resolution will allow a platform for healing for the Hammond family and the City of Seneca that is outside the spotlight of litigation."
Since a settlement has been reached and the investigation remains unfinished, neither the city nor Lt. Mark Tiller, the officer physically responsible for the July 26 shooting, will admit any wrongdoing in the shooting.
Hammond's death took place on July 26, 2015, at a Hardee's restaurant parking lot during a failed undercover marijuana sting that had targeted the passenger in Hammond's vehicle.
The sequence of events that led up to the shootings was questionable from the get-go. Tiller's report indicated that Hammond was threatening to run him over and only fired to protect himself, but an autopsy cast that testimony into doubt, revealing that Hammond was shot from the side.
Dashcam video portraying the shooting soon surfaced, revealing everything that had transpired. It shows Tiller yelling at Hammond to put up his hands and stop his car, but he instead drives away before being fatally shot. You can see Tiller grabbing the left front fender of the gray sedan as the car keeps moving away in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant and he shoots as the car drives by.
The car then moves out of view of the camera, but the audio picks up the sounds of crying, and an officer telling someone to again put their hands up.
Police shooting of #ZacharyHammond
Video: pic.twitter.com/kyJ2rWNZ8u— Mike Ellis (@MikeEllis_AIM) October 27, 2015
This evidence was used to illustrate that the shooting was justified and as such, prosecutors declined to charge Tiller for the shooting in October.
Hammond's family's lawsuit alleged that Tiller didn't just stop at wrongfully killing their son, however. It also argued that the officers who responded to the shooting were disrespectful to Hammond's body, celebrating after the deed was done with one going so far as to give Hammond's lifeless hand a high-five.
Zachary Hammond's death was just the latest in another series of police shootings that were highlighted last year, though many argued that since both parties in the incident were white, that it didn't get as much attention as it deserved.
Though a settlement has been reached, the federal investigation into the shooting is not over. Tiller's attorneys note that the officer may face indictment when the probe concludes.
