Family settles death lawsuit $1.6M for fatal shooting of Unarmed Black Man by New Milford cop

The family of a black man killed by a white New Milford police officer nearly six years ago has agreed to settle their lawsuit against the town for $1.6 million. Under the settlement, Dwight and Pearlylyn Reid, the parents of Franklyn Reid, will receive $800,000, according to documents filed in New Milford Probate Court last week. The other half of the settlement will go to Franklyn Reid's three children. Reid was 27 years old when he was mortally wounded by former Officer Scott Smith after a foot chase along Route 202 on Dec. 29, 1998. As a result of the shooting, Smith became the first police officer in Connecticut to be charged with murder while acting in the line of duty. He was convicted of manslaughter by a Litchfield Superior Court jury in 2000, but won a new trial on appeal. Earlier this year, Smith accepted a plea deal that spared him from serving jail time while he agreed to never again pursue a job as a police officer. Neither the Reids nor their attorney could be reached for comment on Tuesday. But another lawyer involved in the lawsuit, which was pending in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, said the deal included a confidentiality agreement that precluded the parties from disclosing the size of the settlement. The News-Times learned the amount because notice of the agreement was filed last week in probate court, where Reid's estate is being handled. The lawsuit settlement was the only asset listed in Reid's estate, which also included a $35,309 claim by the state of Connecticut for reimbursement of welfare payments for his three children. Reid had two sons, now ages 13 and 11, and a daughter, 9, with Theresa Coons, a New Milford woman. [more] and [more]