The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the family of a 22-year-old Orleans Parish resident who died in 2018 after sustaining neck injuries during an arrest by undercover officers have settled a federal lawsuit for just over $300,000.
The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by the surviving spouse of Keeven Robinson, Wachelle Boutte, in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The parties settled the litigation at the end of December just prior to a jury trial that had been scheduled this month.
The complaint alleged that Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto and four officers employed by the office contributed to the use of excessive force after the officers, who were driving unmarked cars, forced Robinson to pull his car over on Labarre Place. Robinson was choked and beaten, according to the lawsuit, and an autopsy ruled his death a homicide by asphyxiation.
“Petitioner avers that Mr. Robinson struggled to breathe, remained in agony and pain for several minutes before he died as a result of the negligent, vicious and unreasonable fatal actions of defendants,” the lawsuit said.
He was later transferred to Ochsner Medical Center but could not be revived.
One of the attorneys representing Boutte said he was not surprised by the defendants’ decision to enter into settlement talks.
“I am always ready to discuss a resolution prior to trial,” Clarence Roby Jr. told the Louisiana Record, noting that settlement negotiations represent one part of the legal process that attorneys can control. “... I believe we were able to successfully convince the defendants that this was a case that was worthy of a resolution.”
The settlement amount addresses Robinson’s survivors’ pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of future earnings, as well as legal costs. But there was no admission of negligence or liability from the Sheriff’s Office, Roby said.
Even so, such cases have led to changes in police policies around the nation.
“I think now the Sheriff’s Office, as a result of this case and a few others, has a body-worn camera system that they’re going to implement by 2022," Roby said, adding that such body-cam evidence was not available in the Robinson case.