Arlington City Council approved a $1.9 million settlement Tuesday with the family of Tavis Crane, who was killed by Arlington Police Officer Craig Roper in 2017.
The council unanimously approved the full final settlement with Crane’s estate to resolve all claims, including those alleged in the lawsuit filed against the city of Arlington and Roper. De’On Crane, Tavis’ mother, and Alphonse Hoston, his father, will each receive $94,641.48.
The city will pay an amount of $784,000 to Metlife Assignment Company Inc. on behalf of Crane’s eight children. Each child will receive $98,000 — the city’s only obligation to them, according to a staff report. Each child’s portion will be placed into a structured annuity chosen by the child’s mother or guardian.
Arlington will also pay $926,717.04 to Washington Law Firm, P.C., which represents the family.
The family and the attorney ad litem for the minors have approved the settlement, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas will consider approving it later this week, said Susan Schrock, the city’s communications coordinator, in an email.
The Crane family didn’t make any public comments at the meeting.
Funds for the settlement payment are available through the city’s Self-Insurance and Risk Management Program. The settlement was approved Feb. 13, the same month that Crane was killed seven years ago.
The settlement comes after years of legal back-and-forth between Crane’s family and the city. U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman initially tossed the case after he ruled Roper was shielded by qualified immunity, a legal protection stating that plaintiffs must find a similar case that demonstrates officers’ actions were unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Pittman’s ruling last year.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to dismiss the case in October, after the city of Arlington and Roper exhausted their appeals of the lawsuit filed by the Crane family.
On Feb. 1, 2017, the night of the shooting, Cpl. Elise Bowden pulled over Crane, 23, after his 2-year-old daughter threw a candy cane wrapper outside the car window. Bowden mistook it for drug paraphernalia, according to court records.
Roper arrived to help arrest Crane whom Bowden saw was wanted on five warrants. Police said Crane refused to get out of the car, got in a struggle with Roper, then backed into Bowden before driving forward over her. Roper then shot Crane.
The Crane family objected to the police version and said Roper shot Crane before Bowden was run over. The family’s lawsuit stated that Roper used excessive force and caused Crane to lose control of the vehicle.
A Tarrant County grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against Roper, who is still on the force. Bowden has retired.
Arlington resident Chris Dobson spoke in support of the settlement. However, he questioned why Roper is still on the force and still has the Medal of Valor, which honors officers for their service to the department and community. Roper received the distinction in 2018, a year after the shooting.
“Whatever action was taken — part of that stands. This is a separate civil settlement,” Arlington City Manager Trey Yelverton said.
Dang Le is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at dang.le@fortworthreport.org or @DangHLe. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Arlington Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.