CLEVELAND — Attorneys representing the family of Tamia Chappman -- a 13-year-old girl who died after she was struck by a vehicle during a 2019 chase -- announced a $20 million settlement demand from the city of Cleveland during a press conference Thursday morning.
“$20 million, honestly, is not enough," said attorney Shean Williams of The Cochran Firm -- Cleveland. "But we wanted to give the city, the mayor, the city council an opportunity to do the right thing by this family. Doing the right thing is not only compensating this family for this loss, but making changes.”
We streamed the family's full press conference Thursday, which you can watch in the player below:
The incident dates back to Dec. 20, 2019, when Tamia was struck by a vehicle that had allegedly been carjacked and stolen before being pursued by police. Tamia was walking to the East Cleveland Public Library to attend a Toys for Tots event at the time she was killed.
During their press conference, Williams also questioned the city's investigation of the incident, alleging the lead investigator was among those involved in the pursuit.
“That makes no sense in this country," he said. "That’s not objective. ... The investigation didn’t go as they told us it would go. So now we’re here asking the mayor, the city council, the law department to do the right thing: To hold these officers in this city accountable for what happened to Tamia Chappman.”
Attorney Stanley Jackson also offered some thoughts on the $20 million settlement demand.
“We detail all of the things that we see went wrong on this particular day," Jackson said. "Because of that, we understand that we have to have a monumental demand. Why? Because we’ve already had 137 shots in our community. Why? Because we’ve had Tamir Rice. Why? Because we have a consent decree and a monitoring team that’s been here for seven years and we’re supposed to have true police reform. Why? Because we have a mayor who campaigned on 'Cleveland can’t wait.' Why? Because this family can’t wait. Because of that, at this moment, we have been authorized by the family of Tamia Chappman to make a demand of $20 million. We believe that demand is adequate.”
A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to charges connected to the case back in April of 2020 -- including involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to at least 26 years in prison.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- RELATED: 15-year-old boy pleads guilty in death of girl hit during Cleveland police chase
- RELATED: Family of 13-year-old who was struck by car in police chase calls out Cleveland police
- RELATED: Body camera and 911 calls show the moments leading up to 13-year-old's death in East Cleveland
- RELATED: 13-year-old girl killed while walking home from school after police chase ends in crash in East Cleveland; suspect in custody
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in a previous story on Jan. 17, 2020.