Family of Maryland man killed by cop for getting out of car gets $6.5 million settlement
(The AEGIS Alliance) – A couple of years after a man in Maryland was fatally shot by a police officer for exiting his car, his family members got a $6.5 million settlement.
Age 48 Eric Sopp, a White male, had been driving intoxicated on alcohol when police pulled him over on November 26 of 2019, while driving on the I-83 north in Baltimore, according to the Washington Post.
Eric Sopp’s mom named Catherine had phoned 911 after he had made threats to kill himself, then charged out of their residence in Parkton, located around 25 miles north of the Inner Harbor. Catherine informed the police that her son, Eric, was intoxicated with alcohol, however, she also said he wasn’t armed.
Baltimore County police officer Greg Page pulled Eric Sopp’s car over, then instructed him to stay in the vehicle, a bodycam video revealed. Sopp insisted he should exit the vehicle and also started to stand up. Officer Page shot 8 bullets, fatally shooting Eric Sopp.
Page did not face charges of a criminal offense following an investigation led by the Baltimore County district attorney’s office.
“As a result of not being trained properly and using the force he did, he murdered my son and the father of two children,” Catherine Sopp said. “We all continue to grieve Eric. Eric is irreplaceable. No amount of settlement will ever replace him.”
The $6.5 million settlement is going to be divided up between Eric Sopp’s mom along with his two kids.
Catherine Sopp and also her lawyers emphasized the necessity for Baltimore County Police to either obtain better training for handling psychological health and wellness situations or to call in professionals, as opposed to going in with weapons pulled.
“When I called 911, I thought he would receive help,” Catherine Sopp said. “Instead it cost him his life.”
Officer Greg Page is actually still working for the Baltimore County police department, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Jeffrey Childers – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
