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Family of Samuel DuBose ‘Starts the Healing Process,’  Judge Awards Each of His 13 Children $218,000 as Part of Settlement

Raegan Brooks (left), one of Sam DuBose's 13 children, holds the hand of her attorney, Anita Washington, as Judge Ralph "Ted" Winkler announces how the $4.8 million dollar settlement will be distributed. Photo by: Patrick Reddy/Cincinnati.com

Raegan Brooks (left), one of Samuel DuBose’s 13 children, holds the hand of her attorney, Anita Washington, as Judge Ralph “Ted” Winkler announces how the $4.8 million dollar settlement will be distributed. Photo by: Patrick Reddy/Cincinnati.com

The family of a Black man fatally shot by a University of Cincinnati police officer can finally begin the healing process after a judge awarded them $4.8 million in a wrongful death settlement.

According to Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate, WLWT, relatives of slain motorist Samuel DuBose appeared in court Monday for Judge Ralph “Ted” Winkler’s announcement on how the settlement money would be split up.

Winkler ruled that each of DuBose’s 13 children would receive  $217,816.76 from the settlement, while his six siblings will get $32,000 each. As for Dubose’s parents, his mother was awarded $90,000 and his father $25,000. About $1.67 million went to attorneys, according to NBC News. 

“We’re happy this is the past now so that we can move on and begin the process of, you know, going to the trial, the real trial,” Aubrey DuBose said. “You know, like I said, I think everybody’s just relieved that this is over. And however it turned out it turned out. We just feel it’s in God’s hands from here.”

Per WLWT, the family’s attorney initially suggested that 90 percent of the settlement money go to Dubose’s children, 5 percent to the mother, 1 percent to his father, and 1 percent to each of the four maternal siblings.

“…The children have suffered the greatest loss, and the greatest amount of the settlement proceeds should be provided to (his) children,” Judge Winkler conceded.

Dubose was shot to death last July by officer Ray Tensing during a traffic stop. According to NBC News, the 43-year-old was pulled over for a missing front license plate and attempted to drive away, after which he was fatally shot. Tensing, 26, was later terminated by the University of Cincinnati and has since pleaded not guilty to murdering the Black motorist. The former officer is still awaiting trial.

Cincinnati.com reports that Dubose’s family and the university reached a $4.85 million settlement in January that included undergraduate tuition for Dubose’s children. Hearings concerning the disbursement of the settlement money began last month as the family fought bitterly about who would get what, the publication states. Luckily, Monday’s announcement went smoothly.

“We’re not happy, we’re not satisfied – those aren’t the words,” said Dubose’s sister Terina DuBose-Allen. “The settlement means we’re moving forward and we can heal.”

According to Cincinnati.com, the family’s multi-million dollar settlement also includes an eventual on-campus memorial to DuBose, an apology from University of Cincinnati President Santa J. Ono, and an invitation for DuBose’s family to participate in Community Advisory Committee meetings, which are geared toward creating effective reforms in the university’s police department.

The DuBose $4.8 million settlement adds to a list of high-profile settlements awarded to the families of Black men and boys unjustifiably killed by white policemen. The city of Baltimore approved a $6.5 million settlement in September for the family of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died from injuries he sustained during a rough ride in the back of a police van. CNN.com reports that Tamir Rice’s family was awarded $6 million after the 12-year-old boy was shot by a white Cleveland cop for playing with a toy gun. Lastly, the city of New York settled on $5.9 million for the family of Eric Garner, a black man choked to death by an NYPD officer.

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