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Michigan settles lawsuit over teen's death for $12 million

Posted at 9:34 PM, Dec 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-27 21:34:33-05

The family of a Detroit teenager who crashed an all-terrain vehicle and died after he was shot with a Taser has reached a $12 million settlement in a lawsuit against state troopers.

The agreement was filed Friday in federal court, months after Mark Bessner was sentenced to at least five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Bessner and a partner were patrolling a Detroit neighborhood in 2017 when Damon Grimes drove an all-terrain vehicle near their car.

Bessner said he fired a Taser because he believed Grimes had a gun. The teen didn't have a weapon.