BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Board of Estimates unanimously approved a $3.5 million settlement Wednesday with 68 current and former business owners whose properties were damaged during the 2015 unrest following Freddie Gray’s death from injuries suffered in police custody.
Approving the settlement was largely a formality after the plaintiffs’ attorney, Peter Hwang, and a city spokesperson said in March the two sides had reached an agreement. The Board of Estimates has to approve every settlement the city agrees to.
The vote to approve the settlement comes a day after the seven-year anniversary of Gray’s death and five days before the anniversary of his funeral and the subsequent unrest. Gray’s death was ruled a homicide, and six police officers were charged in the killing. All of them were either acquitted or had their charges dropped.
