Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

Pa. city OKs settlement for 2005 police death

EASTON, Pa. -- An eastern Pennsylvania city council has approved a $5 million settlement with the widow of a police officer shot dead inside police headquarters.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. says the settlement approved Monday is "in the best interest of the residents of the city."

Officer Jesse Sollman was accidentally shot by another officer in the police station after a March 2005 training exercise. His widow, Carin, alleged in her federal lawsuit that her husband's death was the result of a lack of safety procedures and discipline.

The settlement doesn't end the city's legal problems over the shooting. Scottsdale Insurance Co. has argued that it shouldn't pay because the death is a workers' compensation case. A federal judge rejected that argument in March, but the insurer is appealing.

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