By Juan Castillo, Austin American-Statesman
You’ll excuse Nelson Linder if his heart is heavy and his mind is weary. Consoling the families of African-Americans shot and killed by Austin police exacts a toll like that. He’s been doing it for 17 years as president of the Austin NAACP, and on Thursday, Linder found himself in that wrenching situation yet once more, meeting with the family of a woman shot dead by police the night before in South Austin. Officers said she tried to run them over and approached one with a knife. The woman’s pastor said she lived with mental illness.
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(These are excerpts from an article in the Austin Statesman, see link at end of post)
The Austin City Council has approved a groundbreaking $3.25 million settlement with the family of David Joseph, the 17-year-old gunned down a year ago by an Austin police officer. The council unanimously voted in favor of the settlement Thursday, making it the largest payout the city has made to the surviving family of a person killed at the hands of Austin police. “While my family appreciates the professionalism and dignity with which David’s wrongful death claim was handled by the city, the Police Department, and all the lawyers involved, my family wishes to remind everyone that no amount of money could ever make up for what happened,” Joseph’s mother, Ketty Sully, said in a statement. Adler echoed the sentiment in a statement of his own. “Nothing we can do will bring David Joseph back,” Adler said in a statement. “I hope what we did will bring some measure of peace to his family and closure to our community. There is lots to learn from this for the city going forward so we don’t end up in this place again.” --- Local NAACP President Nelson Linder said the Joseph shooting was more clear-cut than some previous shootings in which police killed minority members. As the investigation unfolded, police reviewed video that clearly showed a skinny, naked teenager being shot within seconds of first encountering former Austin police officer Geoffrey Freeman, who was fired over the shooting. Read more in the original news post in the Austin Statesman HERE |
For frequent updates, visit the Facebook page of Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder!
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