$650,000 Settlement For Police Shooting Victim

The City of Milwaukee will pay the victim of a police shooting $650,000 as part of a newly-approved settlement.

In August 2017, Jerry Smith, Jr. was chased by Milwaukee Police Department officers to the top of a one-story structure at the rear of an apartment building, 2905 W. Wisconsin Ave., and said to be hiding behind an air conditioner with a gun. He was believed to be part of an earlier altercation.

Two officers that were not part of the initial chase, Melvin Finkley and Adam Stahl, went on the roof after being advised by other officers of the perceived situation.

The officers, as captured in body camera footage, instructed Smith to put his hands in the air as they found him standing several feet from the air conditioner.

The footage shows Smith stick his arms out at his side, then drop his arms and begin to get down on the ground before at least one of the officers began shooting. Officers had not explicitly ordered Smith to get down.

Smith was struck by three bullets and suffered permanent paralysis of his right leg.

He can heard in the video saying “why did y’all shoot me?”

No gun was ever found, but the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office concluded that the officers were justified in using deadly force because they believed Smith was armed.

Smith, who was never charged with a crime, sued the city in federal court for a civil rights violation. He said he was confused for someone else. Smith was 19 at the time of the shooting and is Black.

Judge Lynn Adelman initially blocked the city’s qualified immunity defense, but the case was returned to the court by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. An initial mediation effort failed.

“There was an over $1 million demand to resolve this case,” said deputy city attorney Yolanda McGowan to members of the Judiciary & Legislation Committee on Jan. 31. She said further litigation on the case was pending. Alderman Ashanti Hamilton acknowledged that the case had been previously discussed during the committee’s closed session deliberations.

“The facts and circumstances in this case present a number of challenges for both sides,” said City Attorney Tearman Spencer in a letter encouraging the settlement’s adoption. He did not elaborate on what those facts and circumstances are.

The full council unanimously approved the settlement without discussion on Feb. 8.

Funding for the settlement comes from the city’s damages and claims account. The account, not part of the MPD budget, is being funded with a $1.2 million contribution this year.

Smith was represented by Walter Stern and Robert Sfasciotti on the case. Stern is also currently representing two activists who are suing the city and Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson, but that case is delayed because Stern is suspended from practicing law through early March by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for professional misconduct.