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$1.2 Million Settlement For Childrens' Death During D.C. Police Chase
District of Columbia (D.C.) residents Towhanna Boston and Christopher Suydan, Sr., brought suit after a D.C. police pursuit caused the death of Suydan's children in 2004. The suit settled for $1.2 million.
Suydan and his two children, Octavia and Christopher, Jr., ages eight and seven, were crossing a street with a flashing walk sign while going to the store. Being chased by D.C. police, Eric Palmer struck the children with his vehicle throwing them 140 feet. They died as their father 'watched. The chase began when a police drug sting occurred next to Palmer's car causing him to flee. He sideswiped a police car and the chase ensued. Police disobeyed an order to halt the chase and charged through a heavily populated residential area where the accident took place. Palmer pled guilty in 2005 to two counts of second degree murder and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The suit alleged gross negligence by police for not obeying a no chase policy. See: Boston v. District of Columbia, Case No. 05 7232 (D. D.C. April, 2007).
Suydan and his two children, Octavia and Christopher, Jr., ages eight and seven, were crossing a street with a flashing walk sign while going to the store. Being chased by D.C. police, Eric Palmer struck the children with his vehicle throwing them 140 feet. They died as their father 'watched. The chase began when a police drug sting occurred next to Palmer's car causing him to flee. He sideswiped a police car and the chase ensued. Police disobeyed an order to halt the chase and charged through a heavily populated residential area where the accident took place. Palmer pled guilty in 2005 to two counts of second degree murder and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The suit alleged gross negligence by police for not obeying a no chase policy. See: Boston v. District of Columbia, Case No. 05 7232 (D. D.C. April, 2007).
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Related legal case
Boston v. District of Columbia
| Year | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Case No. 05 7232 (D. D.C. April, 2007) |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 1,200,000.00 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |