LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — A Northern Virginia jury has awarded a multimillion dollar verdict to the family of a teenager fatally shot by a policeman in 2014.
The Washington Post reports that a civil trial concluded last month in Loudoun County, Virginia, with a $3.65 million judgment against officer Timothy Hood. He was an officer in the Purcellville Police Department when he responded to a call about a suicidal teen armed with a knife in May 2014.
Hood was cleared of wrongdoing in a Virginia State Police investigation, but the family of Christian Sierra filed a lawsuit.
Witnesses testified Sierra was out on the sidewalk advancing at Hood as soon as the officer arrived, but differed on how close Sierra had approached and whether Hood gave sufficient warning to Sierra to drop his knife before firing.
A seven-person civil jury found Hood liable for battery.
Hood, who now works for the police department in Haymarket, is appealing the verdict.
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