Family of man killed by Maryland officer to receive $6.5M

BALTIMORE (AP) — A $6.5 million settlement has been reached in the death of an unarmed man who was having a mental health crisis when he was shot by a Baltimore County officer, attorneys say.

Lawyers for Eric Sopp’s family on Tuesday announced the settlement in their federal lawsuit, The Baltimore Sun . Sean Naron, a spokesperson for Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., confirmed the settlement amount but made no further comment to the paper.

The shooting happened in November 2019 after Catherine Sopp called 911 to report that her son had been drinking and threatened to kill himself before driving off, according to Officer Gregory Page after he defied commands and got out of his car on the shoulder of Interstate 83. Body camera footage released in February 2020 shows that Page fired at least eight times.

Sopp’s mother and two children claimed that Page escalated the encounter by shouting conflicting commands and drawing his gun. They also said the officer didn’t wait for a mental health crises team to arrive, violating department policy.

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