The city of Cleveland announced Monday that it will pay $4.8 million to the family of a 13-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a stolen car driven by a teenage carjacker during a police chase in December 2019.
The settlement comes nearly four years after the family of the girl, Tamia Chapman, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against 22 Cleveland Police Department officers, alleging they engaged in an “extremely reckless and unnecessary chase.” It was announced later.
Stanley Jackson, an attorney for the Chapman family, said at a news conference Monday that the settlement is believed to be the largest ever paid in Ohio in connection with a police chase.
“This shows that Tamia's life mattered, and we believe it will change the way police work in Cleveland and elsewhere,” Jackson said. “Tamia should not have lost her life.”
City spokeswoman Sarah Johnson said in a statement Monday that the decision to resolve the case was an “extremely difficult one” and the city considers the pursuit began due to a “violent armed carjacking.” He added that it was necessary. ”
“On the one hand, you have police officers who are trying to do their job to remove violent insurgents from the streets so they don't cause more casualties and commit new violent crimes,” Johnson said. Ta. “Meanwhile, a 13-year-old girl was tragically murdered, leaving her family, friends and the entire community in mourning.”
Tamia's mother, Sherry Chapman, said at a news conference Monday that the settlement does not bring Tamia any closure.
“I can never get my daughter back,” she said.
The day before the chase, on Dec. 19, 2020, Deshawn McNear, then 15, stole a 72-year-old woman's car at gunpoint, according to court records. The next day, McNear held another woman at gunpoint at a Cleveland-area Target store and stole her car, according to court records. McNear fled in the woman's car, but was soon spotted by an off-duty police officer who followed her onto the interstate, according to court records.
What followed was a winding pursuit through Cleveland and residential neighborhoods on the city's east side, during which McNear drove at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour.
“During the pursuit, the City of Cleveland did not follow its own policies, did not follow its own procedures and had no common sense,” Jackson said.
The Chapman family alleges in the lawsuit that the officers involved in the chase violated department policy by not ending the chase even though the pursued vehicle was traveling at excessive speeds. insisted.
McNear ended up swerving the bus and colliding with oncoming traffic, sending several children onto the sidewalk on their way to the library, according to court records.
According to court records, McNear struck Tamia, killing her and seriously injuring the 11-year-old boy.
Jackson said the officers involved in the chase were not disciplined. Cleveland police did not respond to several requests for comment Monday.
“There are no winners or losers in tragic events like this,” Johnson said in a statement. “It's easy to blame one way or another, but the fact remains that Tamia would still be here with us even if the armed carjacker hadn't committed that crime.”
McNear was sentenced to at least 26 years in prison in 2021 after pleading guilty to several crimes related to the carjacking and accident, including aggravated robbery, theft, manslaughter and aggravated vehicular assault, according to court records. . Records show McNear is 19 years old and currently serving his sentence at the Lebanon Correctional Facility in southwestern Ohio.