Colorado Police Settlement: Family of Pregnant Woman Killed by Officers Receives $2 Million
A settlement of $2 million has been struck between the city of Arvada, Colorado, and the family of a pregnant lady who was tragically shot by police in Arvada, Colorado, after authorities incorrectly recognized her as a shoplifter.
Tuesday was the day that officials issued this pronouncement, which served to provide some conclusion to a case that has garnered a great amount of attention.
Originally from Denver, Destinee Thompson was a mother of three children when she was killed. On August 17, 2021, she was slain while attempting to drive away from law enforcement personnel who had surrounded her vehicle for the purpose of arresting her.
The incident occurred when Thompson was leaving a motel in Arvada at the time of the occurrence. There was a sad episode that occurred when law enforcement officers confused her for a Latina suspect who had allegedly stolen stuff from a Target store.
The lawsuit that was filed by Thompson’s family states that police enforcement officials were present in the vicinity looking for a woman who had displayed a knife during an incident involving shoplifting earlier.
It was said that the suspect wore a white tank top and had a tattoo on his chest for identification purposes.
There was a widespread belief that she had gone to the motel. On the other hand, Thompson, who was also wearing a white tank top but did not have any chest tattoos, was currently leaving the motel in order to eat lunch when the officers arrived.
As soon as Thompson got inside her minivan, the scenario suddenly became exponentially worse. Using a patrol car, the police surrounded her vehicle and prevented her from entering the area.
During the course of the officers’ ranting at her, they broke a passenger window of her minivan at some point.
Thompson, who was experiencing feelings of fear, attempted to back out of the parking place, but in the end, he drove over the curb and headed in the direction of the road.
According to the allegations made in the lawsuit, she did not pose any kind of danger to the cops at any point during the contact.
Officer Anthony Benallo of the Arvada Police Department fired eight shots at Thompson’s vehicle while she was driving approximately 25 yards away from the location of the initial incident.
It was one of these shots that impacted Thompson, causing her death as well as the death of her unborn child. After conducting an investigation into the matter, District Attorney Alexis D. King made the decision in April 2022 to not pursue criminal charges against the policemen who were involved in the incident.
“I find that the officer’s use of deadly physical force was legally justified to defend himself and others from the threat posed,” according to King’s statement.
Despite the fact that the news of the settlement was announced this week, the agreement to resolve the case that Thompson’s family had brought was reached in July of 2023.
For the Arvada Police Department, the settlement was confirmed by Dave Snelling, who serves as a spokesperson for the department.
In the year 2023, Francis Thompson, the father of the victim, voiced his dissatisfaction by alleging that the police department had sought to minimize the killing by delaying the release of the incident report by more than a year.
It is because of this delay, in addition to the circumstances surrounding the incident, that continued issues have been raised over the actions of police enforcement and their accountability in this particular case.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with,” he stated. “I want justice. I don’t think it’s fair that the officers are still working without punishment.”
“I wish I could tell her one more time that I love her, and I’ll never stop fighting for her. I’m not going to let go.”