Metro Council Agrees to Pay $2.25 Million to Family of Daniel Hambrick

The Metro Council on Tuesday agreed to pay $2.25 million to the family of Daniel Hambrick, a Black man shot by a white police officer in 2018.

The city’s lawyers and the Hambrick family reached a settlement agreement earlier this month, with the payment set to conclude Hambrick’s mother Vickie’s civil suit, which was filed against the city and Nashville police officer Andrew Delke.

Delke still faces murder charges for the slaying, though the trial has been delayed due to COVID-19.

The lawsuit asked for $30 million in damages, and Nashville lawyers advised that the settlement would help avoid lengthy and costly litigation and a potential adverse outcome.

“We think this is a fair resolution for all of the parties,” Metropolitan director of law Bob Cooper said in a release. “Pursuing this matter through trial and appeal would have been expensive and time consuming with the risk of an adverse decision. The community is better served by bringing finality to this case.”

The settlement agreement admits no wrongdoing by Delke or Metro Police. The suit alleged a “culture of fear, violence and racism” at the department. Vickie Hambrick and Metro Police Chief John Drake, who was promoted to the top job after Daniel Hambrick’s death, have agreed to meet privately.

According to WPLN, the city has doled out $1.2 million since 2012 related to more than 20 police complaints. Vickie Hambrick's attorneys called the latest payment of more than double that "record-breaking for Nashville" but "paltry" compared to payouts in high-profile cases around the country.

“We can all draw our own conclusions regarding what this settlement says about how much Nashville values black life,” Hambrick family attorneys Joy Kimbrough and Kyle Mothershead said in a release. “And while we are less than inspired by the value that Nashville has placed on Daniel’s life, we remember the pivotal role that Daniel’s murder played in the passage of the Community Oversight Board referendum. For that, we are forever grateful.”