Kentucky county reaches $3.5M settlement after shooting


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BURLINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky county has agreed to a $3.5 million settlement with the family and passengers of a teenager who was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy as she drove away from a party.

Nineteen-year-old Samantha Ramsey's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year after she was shot by Boone County Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Brockman in April 2014.

Plaintiffs' attorney Al Gerhardstein announced the settlement between the family and Boone County during a news conference Wednesday.

On April 26, 2014, around 2 a.m., Brockman responded to a report of a large party in Hebron to check whether the drivers who were leaving were sober, news outlets reported.

Ramsey, who was driving three friends, didn't stop as she left the party and hit Brockman with her car, throwing him onto the hood, Brockman said.

The deputy said he felt the car speeding up and feared for his life so he fired into the windshield four times, killing Ramsey. Her three passengers were then held at gunpoint.

The lawsuit said Ramsey was stopping the car when Brockman fired.

Toxicology reports indicated Ramsey had alcohol and marijuana in her system.

A grand jury declined to indict Brockman in 2014. He is still employed as a deputy in Boone County.

Following the shooting, the sheriff's office is expected to revise its use of force policy by June 30 as well as have patrol officers wear body cameras by the end of 2017, Gerhardstein said.

"I'm pleased with the changes the county's willing to make," Brandi Stewart, Ramsey's mother, said during the news conference. "It will protect the citizens, as well as the sheriff's deputies."

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