Claims filed against the City of Atlanta on behalf of a teenager killed by a former Atlanta police officer have been settled after several years of litigation.
The city approved a nearly $1.5 million settlement for the family of D’Ettrick Griffin. They sued after former Officer Oliver Simmonds shot and killed Griffin while he tried to steal the officer’s undercover, unmarked Atlanta Police Department vehicle at a gas station.
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As Channel 2 Action News has reported in the past, Simmonds was filling up the gas tank of the vehicle in January 2019 when Griffin tried to take the car. Simmonds opened fire, shooting and killing him.
In 2022, the former Atlanta Police Department officer was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder for Griffin’s death.
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Simmonds was found not guilty in 2024. With Simmonds not convicted, the three-year legal battle ended, but Griffin’s family sued the city on his behalf.
Now that a settlement has been reached, Griffin’s family has agreed to settle all claims against the City of Atlanta and will receive $1.475 million.
The settlement will be paid in two checks, each $737,500, one upon approval of the settlement and one after July 1 “in full consideration of the dismissal of all claims” against the city.
According to documents from the Atlanta City Council, the city attorney determined settling would leave Atlanta less exposed financially than it would be had the case continued.
“The City Attorney considers it to be in the best interest of the City to settle all claims against the City,” according to the document provided to Channel 2 Action News.
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