City to pay $75k to settle shooting suit

Five years after Willie L. Murray Jr. was shot to death by a Boston police officer after a traffic stop in Roxbury, the city agreed yesterday to pay $75,000 to settle a wrongful death suit that was about to go to trial in federal court.

Boston's corporation counsel William F. Sinnott, who confirmed the $75,000 settlement, said the money will go to Murray's son, who was 3 when his father was killed on Feb. 12, 2002.

The city maintains that Officer Shawn West accidentally fired his gun at Murray, according to Sinnott said. "There was no admission of negligence on the part of the city of Boston."

Neither Murray's family nor the lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of Murray's son could be reached for comment yesterday. The suit, which named the city and West, alleged that both Murray and his passenger were unarmed and that the police officer used unreasonable force while attempting to detain Murray.

The shooting of Murray, 37, of the South End, was the fifth shooting by a Boston police officer in 15 months, sparking a grand jury investigation. However, a Suffolk grand jury voted not to indict West after reviewing the evidence in the case.

"It was a terribly difficult, but clearly accidental discharge," said Boston lawyer Douglas Louison, who represented West in the civil case. "He's one of the good guys on the Police Department, and he's going to have a good and long career."

Last month, West, who is assigned to Area B-2, received an award for helping to subdue a man who was trying to draw a gun from his pocket in March near the crowded entrance to the Breezeway Bar and Grill in Roxbury.

The federal lawsuit, which had been slated for trial this week, alleged that Murray was driving his Chrysler with its headlights off the wrong way on Crawford Street when West stopped him at about 3:30 a.m. and approached the car with his gun drawn and pointed at Murray.

The suit alleges that Murray was only able to roll his window down about 2 inches because it was broken and that West then stuck his gun inside the car and pointed it at Murray's head.

Murray, who had a male passenger in the car, yelled, "What, you going to shoot me?" according to the suit.

When the car rolled forward, West shot Murray, killing him, according to the suit.

During an interview with the Globe several days after the shooting, the passenger said he did not believe that Murray was trying to flee when his foot came off the brake, causing the car to advance a few feet before West fired.

"He died innocently, and that's the story," the passenger said.

But yesterday, Sinnott offered the city's version of what happened. He said West stopped Murray moments after he had evaded police in a high-speed chase. Murray refused West's repeated order to shut the car off, and said, "Are you going to shoot me? [Expletive] shoot," Sinnott said.

"The officer had his weapon pointed at Murray through a darkly tinted driver's window," Sinnott said.

"Murray made a downward movement toward the gear shift and the officer, in an attempt to remove Murray from the car, reached for the driver's door handle. . . . He inadvertantly inserted his firearm inside the window, the vehicle moved forward, the officer's arm got caught, and his weapon discharged, killing Mr. Murray," he said.

US District Judge Richard G. Stearns dismissed the lawsuit after both sides advised him they had reached a settlement.