Local News in Brief : Settlement Rejected in Slaying by Officer
The family of an off-duty Rapid Transit District bus driver who was shot to death by a California Highway Patrol officer three years ago has rejected the state’s offer of at least $1 million to settle their wrongful death lawsuit.
Robert Johnson, brother of Yusuf Bilal, 38, who was killed after being stopped for allegedly running a red light in South-Central Los Angeles on March 18, 1986, said after a closed-door meeting of attorneys that the sum offered by the state was “insufficient to cover the loss suffered by the family.”
Deputy Atty. Gen. Tom Blake would not comment, other than to say the case “has not been settled and will go to trial.”
Investigators said CHP Officer Bruce M. Moats, 38, jabbed Bilal with a baton when Bilal did not get out of his car quickly enough. The officer said he fired his revolver in self-defense after Bilal wrested away his baton and threatened to attack him.
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