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L.A. Okays B.I.G. Payday
03/30/2006 11:54 AM, E! Online
Los Angeles has agreed to write a hefty check to the family of the
late Notorious B.I.G.
The Los Angeles City Council on
Wednesday approved a $1.1 million payment as a penalty for police
negligence in last year's wrongful death trial.
U.S. District
Judge Florence-Marie Cooper sanctioned the penalty in January, after it
came to light mid-trial that a Los Angeles police officer had concealed
evidence during the investigation and discovery process, intentionally
withholding several documents that seemed to buffet the family's claims
that rogue cops were involved in the rapper's death.
The $1.1
million is expected to pay off the legal costs incurred by the family of
Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, before the judge declared a
mistrial last July.
The city's attorneys told the council not
to appeal the payout because the ruling is unlikely to be overturned.
Earlier this month, a new team of LAPD detectives was assigned
to take over the investigation into the Brooklyn-born rapper's death,
this time focusing on possible police involvement and the circumstances
surrounding his 1997 shooting.
"We're going to continue our
investigation into how an experienced detective working homicide could
let this happen," Councilman Dennis Zine said. "It really falls on
negligence...and it's costing the taxpayers over $1 million in
sanctions."
The Wallace family, led by his mother, Voletta
Wallace, and widow, R&B singer Faith Evans, filed suit in 2002, alleging
that officer David A. Mack, a convicted bank robber, orchestrated the
"Big Poppa" singer's murder on behalf of Death Row Records founder and
fellow parolee Marion "Suge" Knight, and that the LAPD was integral to
covering it up. The complaint also alleged civil rights violations,
saying police knew of a beef between Biggie and other East Coast rappers
and Knight's West Coast contigent.
Just four days into last
summer's trial, previously undisclosed statements were unearthed that
hinted at a police cover-up. It was discovered that an LAPD homicide
detective has failed to turn over the transcript of an interview with an
informant who had claimed in a 2000 interview that Mack and a fellow
disgraced officer had moonlighted for Death Row Records.
The
judge declared a mistrial, ruling the evidence had been deliberately
concealed and ordered the city to pay the massive fine.
Both
sides are due back in court Apr. 26 to establish a new trial date.
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