No Check Brings Them Home: The Millions Paid After Police Killings of Black People

Atatiana Jefferson's family has reached a proposed $11.25 million settlement agreement with Fort Worth nearly seven years after former police officer Aaron Dean shot the 28-year-old through a bedroom window inside her home. The deal, which still requires city and probate-court approval, follows a separate $3.5 million payment approved for her nephew Zion Carr, who was eight and inside the house when his aunt was killed.

Former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean was convicted of manslaughter in 2022 and sentenced to 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison. Jefferson's sister, Ashley Carr, said receiving both criminal and civil consequences was rare, while making clear that neither could bring Atatiana home.

George Floyd's family reached a $27 million agreement with Minneapolis in 2021, one of the largest pretrial wrongful-death settlements of its kind when it was announced. His death beneath the knee of former officer Derek Chauvin had already transformed Floyd's name into a rallying cry heard far beyond Minnesota.

Inside his own Dallas apartment, Botham Jean was eating ice cream and watching football before off-duty officer Amber Guyger entered and fatally shot him in 2018. A federal jury awarded Jean's family and estate $98.65 million in damages in 2024, setting his legal outcome apart from negotiated settlements.

Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was playing outside a Cleveland recreation center when Officer Timothy Loehmann shot him in 2014. Cleveland later agreed to pay his family $6 million, resolving the civil lawsuit without admitting wrongdoing.

Handcuffed inside a Prince George's County police cruiser, William Green was shot six times by Officer Michael Owen Jr. in 2020. His family received a $20 million settlement, while relatives remembered the 43-year-old father of two as the person everyone leaned on.

Breonna Taylor's family reached a $12 million agreement with Louisville after officers shot her during a 2020 search of her apartment. Money was only one piece of the deal, which also required changes involving search warrants, body cameras and other police practices.

Five million dollars went to Laquan McDonald's family after Chicago Officer Jason Van Dyke shot the 17-year-old 16 times in 2014. City officials agreed to the payment before his family filed a lawsuit, months before the public saw dashcam footage of McDonald falling to the pavement as Van Dyke continued firing.

Eric Garner's family accepted $5.9 million from New York City a year after his 2014 death during an encounter with NYPD officers on Staten Island. His repeated words "I can't breathe" survived long beyond the settlement, becoming inseparable from the way millions came to remember Garner.

Freddie Gray's family received $6.4 million from Baltimore after the 25-year-old suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody in 2015. The agreement arrived months after Gray's death brought demonstrations and unrest to Baltimore's streets.

Fort Worth's newest agreement would bring the city's combined settlements tied to Jefferson's shooting to $14.75 million once the remaining approvals are secured. For Ashley Carr, the dollar figure ends where her family's loss begins: no conviction or payment can bring her sister back through the door.