What’s happening?
Law firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy announced that the family of Eric Sopp will receive a $6.5 million settlement from Baltimore County in connection to the fatal shooting of the mentally ill Sopp by police in November 2019.
In October 2020, Sopp’s family filed a lawsuit against Officer Gregory Page and the county, alleging that Page “violated Sopp’s civil rights as well as federal laws prohibiting disability discrimination,” according to CBS Baltimore.
How did the fatal shooting happen?
On the night of November 26, 2019, Eric Sopp’s mother called the police after her son, who threatened to kill himself, drunkenly left their home in a Toyota Camry. Police body-worn camera footage showed the officer approach Sopp with his gun drawn and knock on the vehicle’s passenger side window. Eventually, Sopp got out of the car and Page opened fire.
“When I called 911 that evening, I was seeking assistance to protect both Eric and other drivers,” Sopp’s mom, Catherine, told CBS Baltimore. “I never dreamed that a police officer would kill my unarmed son.”
Anything else I should know?
Chelsea J. Crawford, an attorney for the Sopp family, said that “meaningful change” will only occur if the county “strengthens its crisis intervention programs, provides mandatory training for all police officers, and hires additional crisis intervention personnel.”
You can read more here.
