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The man, Walter
Scott, 50, was shot after fleeing a traffic stop in April. The
shooting was caught on a bystander's video and reignited a
national outcry over police treatment of minorities.
North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey said in a statement that
the City Council had voted to settle all potential claims over
Scott's death for $6.5 million.
"I am glad the city and the family were able to reach a
settlement without the necessity of a lawsuit," he said.
The police officer, Michael Slager, faces a murder charge in
Scott's death.
"It could have been a trillion dollars. It would never bring my
son back. But I thank them for what they did," Scott's mother,
Judy, said of the settlement.
Chris Stewart, an attorney for Scott's family, said the payout
was the largest pre-lawsuit settlement in the history of South
Carolina and one of the largest in the United States.
He said it would take care of Scott's four children for the rest
of their lives.
The settlement comes after New York agreed to pay $5.9 million
to the family of Eric Garner, whose death in 2014 after
allegedly being put in a chokehold by an police officer was
captured on bystander video.
Baltimore said last month it would pay $6.4 million to the
family of Freddie Gray, whose death from an injury in the back
of a police transport van in April sparked protests and rioting.
Six officers are charged in his death.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington and Barbara Liston in
Orlando, Florida; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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