Tacoma City Council approves $3.1 million settlement with family of man killed by police

Tacoma City Council approves $3.1 million settlement with family of man killed by police

The Tacoma City Council has approved a multi-million dollar settlement with the family of Bennie Branch, who was shot and killed by Tacoma police during a traffic stop in 2019.

TACOMA, Wash. - The Tacoma City Council has approved a multi-million dollar settlement with the family of Bennie Branch, who was shot and killed by Tacoma police during a traffic stop in 2019.

On Sept. 8, 2019, 24-year-old Bennie Branch was shot and killed by Tacoma Police in front of his mother. She was homeless, reportedly living out of a car and Bennie was there to check on her.

According to police, officers believed a BB gun in his possession was a handgun. In 2020, county prosecutors decided not to file charges against the officer involved.

Attorneys said Bennie’s mother was the lone witness to her son’s death, and it’s her word against the officers who fired those fatal shots.

Tacoma Police said Bennie had a gun on him that night, but his attorneys say it was a BB gun and that it was kicked away before he was shot.

The details of the settlement have not been disclosed, but the family's attorney confirmed that it was a multi-million dollar settlement.

FOX 13 News reached out to the city to learn more about the settlement.