The Dallas Police Department has already admitted that the chase that killed Fred Bradford Jr. on the night of April 21 shouldn't have happened. Bradford, 51, was riding his bicycle along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, allegedly stopping to peek suspiciously inside parked cars. Officer Bryan Burgess gave chase in his squad car, ultimately mowing Bradford down in a patch of grass along the Julius Schepps Freeway service road, according to police records.
Burgess and partner Michael Puckett, who had followed Bradford on foot were both fired in August for ignoring DPD's pursuit policy, recklessly endangering Bradford's life, and attempting to cover the whole thing up.
See also: Bryan Burgess, the Dallas Cop Who Ran Over a Cyclist, Was Arrested Last Night
Because of all that, Bradford's mother had a pretty decent chance of prevailing in the wrongful death lawsuit she filed earlier in the summer against DPD.
On Wednesday, in tacit acknowledgment of that fact, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved settling the case by paying Virginia Bradford $1.15 million. With that, the city eclipsed $3 million in excessive force and wrongful death settlements over the past two years, Fox 4 reports.
"That's something Chief Brown has to kind of get a handle on with the police officers," Councilman Dwaine Caraway told the station. "We cannot continue to be sued and paying out taxpayers' dollars."
See also: A Dallas Cop Is on Leave After Fatally Striking a Fleeing Cyclist During Low-Speed Car Chase
Burgess, meanwhile, is still facing a charge of negligent homicide in Dallas County court.
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