The mother of a young Black man who was shot to death by Boston police officers in 2016 has settled with the city.
Boston will pay $4.7 million to resolve the wrongful death suit over the killing of Terrence Coleman, with most of that money going to his mother Hope Coleman. Her son, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was killed by officers after Hope Coleman called 911 for help getting him in from the cold.
“No mother should have to witness her child killed at the hands of police and fight, the way that I have had to fight now for so many years, to gain accountability,” Hope Coleman, 68, said in a written statement. “Nothing can bring Terrence back, but today at least some measure of justice has been done.”
Boston Police and former Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office investigated the case and claimed that when emergency personnel and police arrived, Terrence Coleman attacked EMTs with a kitchen knife — an allegation Hope Coleman has long countered.
After that, officers Garrett Boyle and Kevin Finn wrestled Terrence Coleman, 31, to the ground, and Boyle shot him twice. He died at a hospital a few hours later.
Conley said that Boyle’s use of deadly force was justified because Terrence Coleman endangered the lives of officers and EMTs.
On Tuesday, a city spokesperson said that the settlement does not include an admission of liability.
"Terrence Coleman’s death was a tragic event, and we continue to hold Ms. Coleman and all of Terrence’s family and loved ones in our hearts. The City, the Boston Police Department, and Boston EMS are committed to providing the best possible care, services, and protection for people and families experiencing mental health crises,” the spokesperson said in a written statement.
The spokesperson also said that the resolution isn’t the result of the officers’ actions, and that the city supports its officers “who were called into an incredibly difficult situation, and responded to protect the lives of medical personnel on the scene.”
Hope Coleman first filed her wrongful death suit in federal court in 2018. This past December, the presiding judge, Judge Mark L. Wolf, said he was “seriously considering” holding the city liable without trial for failing to hand over important documents related to the case.
“Look, this isn’t a game,” Wolf said in the December hearing. “Somebody’s dead. Somebody’s mother is grieving, and this case has been unreasonably prolonged because the city has not complied.” Wolf later called the case “more messed up” than any he had ever encountered.
Boston will pay $3.4 million to Hope Coleman and Terrence Coleman’s estate, $1.2 million to cover Hope Coleman’s legal fees, and $100,000 more in fees over its failure to make disclosures in court.
Attorney Bill Fick of Fick & Marx LLP represents Hope Coleman. He said that a lot of the evidence that the Boston Police Department did turn over during the case was astonishing.
“We learned that as early as 2012, the Boston Police Department was developing and had really finalized a rule, or a policy, governing police interactions with emotionally disturbed or mentally ill persons that could have perhaps avoided the tragedy in this case,” he said. That final policy was never adopted, according to records reviewed by GBH News, despite top approval from the upper echelons of the Boston Police Department.
“It is shameful that the City of Boston fought a grieving mother tooth-and-nail for so long,” said Sophia Hall, deputy litigation director at Lawyers for Civil Rights, which also represents Hope Coleman. “Today, the City has finally stepped up, and this settlement will help bring closure for Ms. Coleman and her family after this years-long legal battle.”
Hannah Reale contributed reporting.
