"A newspaper’s analysis shows legal settlements from shootings involving police officers from South Carolina municipalities have totalled about $23m since 2009.
The Post and Courier reports that its analysis shows that more than $17m in such legal settlements have come this year.
Those payments included a $10m dollar settlement in the shooting death of a former mayor in Cottageville and $6.5m in the shooting death of Walter Scott, an unarmed African American man, by North Charleston police officer Michael Slager on 4 April this year.
Insurers for the municipalities paid the bulk of the settlements, which typically stemmed from lawsuits alleging wrongful death or excessive force.
However, the paper said, such settlements can lead to higher insurance premiums that are ultimately paid by taxpayers.
Police shooting payouts “will either remain the same or even rise if steps aren’t taken to curb officers’ uses of deadly force,” the newspaper quoted Sam Walker, a University of Nebraska criminal justice expert, as saying."
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