The family of a homeless Black man in California who died at the hands of a sheriff’s deputy after reportedly jaywalking will receive a $7.5 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit.
Kurt Andras Reinhold was shot and killed on Sept. 23, 2020, by an Oakland County Sheriff’s Department deputy in San Clemente. On Tuesday, May 9, during a closed-session meeting, the OC Board of Supervisors approved the settlement, according to The Orange County Register.
“We decided to settle because this is a very tragic case and it was an opportunity that both sides agreed would be a fair number to put an end to the fight over this really tragic situation. There is simply no good to come out of this circumstance. We’re very hopeful that this gives the family some closure and we never see anything as horrible as this again,” board chairman Don Wagner said.
The board voted 4-0 for the settlement.
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John Taylor, attorney for the Reinhold family, released a statement once the settlement was made public.
“This is vindication for the Reinhold family,” he said. “There needs to be accountability when deputies use excessive force, and this is a step in that direction. The family hopes that the unnecessary killing of Kurt can impact interaction between homeless outreach deputies and the people that they’re supposed to serve.”
When the deputies approached Reinhold outside the Hotel Miramar at El Camino Real and Avenida San Gabriel, the young man and one of the officers, Duran, got into a scuffle. Sheriff department officials reported that during the melee, Reinhold reached for the deputy’s gun, resulting in his death.
Family members of the 42-year-old argued he did not reach for Duran’s firearm, but rather his arms “incidentally” flailed near the gun…
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