The city of Aurora, Colorado, has awarded a Black family held at gunpoint by Aurora police officers $1.9 million. The money is part of a settlement between the the city and Brittney Gilliam.
Gilliam’s lawyer, David Lane, said the settlement was agreed upon because a trial would make Gilliam and the four girls relive the traumatic moment.
Gilliam said the incident caused a mix of emotions.
“I was livid,” Gilliam said. “It was more scary than anything because all I could hear was their crying and screams.”
In August 2021, Aurora police initiated a traffic stop of Gilliam’s SUV. After scanning her license plate, police said the officers believed Gilliam’s license plate matched that of one reported stolen. The officers were wrong, and the department later admitted the license plate Gilliam had had similar numbers to a license plate reported stolen. However, the license plate that had been reported stolen was on a motorcycle with Montana plates.
Thinking the license plate was stolen, the officers ordered Gilliam and the four girls in the SUV to get out of the vehicle.
The family was then held at gunpoint and forced to lay face down on the pavement.
“Brittney Gilliam and her family, including four kids, ages 6 through 17, were out looking to get their nails done and have a fun girl’s day out,” Lane said. “They had stopped at a parking lot to figure out where they wanted to go.”
At that moment, the encounter with police began as a patrol vehicle made its way toward Gilliam’s SUV.
“They pulled up the plate. The plate came back stolen on the first hit,” Lane said. “They stopped. They drew their guns. They ordered everyone out of the car at gunpoint. Brittney got out of the car on the driver’s side, and they ordered all these kids out on the passenger side. And one by one they put these kids face down on hot pavement in August, including a 6-year-old little girl.”
Now, more than three years after the police encounter, a settlement for Gilliam and the four girls involved has been reached.
The money will be divided up evenly among Gilliam and the four girls. The girls will receive the funds in annuities and have acess once they turn 18. Receiving the settlement in annuities will likely mean a bigger return of money, according to The Guardian.
The initial lawsuit in the case sued the city of Aurora on the grounds of “profound and systemic racism.” The city confirmed the settlement announced Monday, Feb. 5, in a statement.
“The Aurora Police Department remains committed to strengthening the relationship with the community through accountability and continuously improving how it serves the public,” the statement said.
An investigation by prosecutors found no evidence that the officers committed any crimes, in part because they were following their training for a high-risk stop as they suspected the car to be stolen. However, the family’s attorney said there is no excuse for what happened considering the history of policing in the city.
“It was absolutely appalling that these ‘robocops’ from the same agency, I might add, that killed Elijah McClain, would put little children on the ground for any reason at all,” Lane said.
In 2021, the city reached a settlement with the family of Elijah McClain for $15 million.
McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, was stopped by Aurora police while walking down the street in 2019. An officer placed McClain in a neck hold, and he was injected with a sedative, which eventually led to his death. One officer was convicted in his death, two officers were acquitted, and paramedics were also convicted in connection with his death.
McClain’s settlement is not the first one involving allegations of police brutality in Aurora. The New York Times found that the city settled at least 11 police brutality cases from 2003 to 2018 for a total of $4.6 million.
Following McClain’s death, a state civil rights investigation launched in response to protests revealed “a deeply engrained culture of racially biased policing in the department.”
Regarding the settlement involving Gilliam and the four girls, Lane told The New York Times that the agreement had been reached months ago but remained confidential until this week because children were involved.
One of the officers involved in the stop was suspended for 160 hours. Both of the officers involved in the incident remain on the Aurora Police force as of early February 2024.
While prosecutors did not find the officers committed a crime, they did acknowledge the way things unfolded should have never happened. Prosecutors said that standards and practices should be reviewed by the police department.
