KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department spokesperson has confirmed that the department has reached a settlement with the family of Terrence Bridges, who wasshot and killed by KCPD officers in 2019.
The Bridges family's attorney, Tom Porto, said the settlement was for $5 million.
"Today, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department finalized a settlement agreement with the family of Terrence Bridges in the amount of $5,000,000," Porto said in a statement to KSHB 41 News. "This agreement represents the police department's acknowledgment of the tragic and significant loss to the family of Terrance [sic] Bridges that this incident caused. Despite this tragedy, we recognize that police officers have difficult jobs and are frequently faced with making split-second life or death decisions. The family is grateful that they are now able to put this matter behind them."
Bridges was shot and killed May 26, 2019, by a KCPD officer in the area of East 70th Street and Bellefontaine Avenue.
A native of Chicago and father of two, he was 30 years old at the time of his death.
Police said Bridges was suspected of an armed encounter and fled the area in a stolen vehicle, before returning to the scene.
A spokesperson for KCPD said that an officer attempted to take Bridges into custody, but he ran from the officer.
When the officer caught up to Bridges, the officer shot him during the encounter.
Bridges was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer was not injured.
Both Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker and a grand jury declined to pursue charges against the officer after determining that there was not evidence to convict "beyond a reasonable doubt," because the officer believed Bridges was armed based on information from witnesses, was a threat and was attempting to escape by use of a weapon.
Bridges' family had previously spoken out about wanting clarification on the circumstances surrounding his death.
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