The family of 18-year-old Portsmouth, Virginia man William Chapman II has agreed to a $1 million settlement for the 2015 shooting death of the teen.
On April 22, 2015, Portsmouth officer Stephen Rankin, 36, shot the unarmed teen in Walmart after responding to a shoplifting call in the area.
Rankin said Chapman allegedly knocked his Taser out of his hands and at one point during the encounter said “Shoot me.”
The former officer was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
According to WAVY 10 On Your Side News, family spokesman Earl Lewis Jr. tells reporters that the money is not the most important aspect about this.
“It’s not about the money, it is about the principle,” said Lewis. “No amount of money can bring back William Chapman.”
Initially, Chapman’s family wanted $2.5 million because they felt that it was in line with other police shooting settlements nationwide.
“[Rankin] will be out with his family. William Chapman’s mother will never get the opportunity to ever see him again, and sometimes you’ve got to look at life. A life was taken, a teenager, out of our community.”
Rankin will not be sentenced until October.
