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VOL. 41 | NO. 34 | Friday, August 25, 2017
Family accepts $86K settlement in students arrest lawsuit
MURFREESBORO (AP) — A family that sued after the arrests of three children at a Tennessee elementary school has accepted a settlement totaling $86,500 from local governments.
Zacchaeus and Lavonia Crawford sued after their children were arrested in April 2016 following an off-campus bullying incident. The arrests of the African-American children at Hobgood Elementary School in Murfreesboro — some hauled off in handcuffs — drew outrage.
The charges against the children were dismissed in June 2016.
The Daily News Journal reports the Murfreesboro government will pay a total of $85,000, including $27,000 for the plaintiff's attorney. Rutherford County pays $1,500.
The lawsuit also named four Murfreesboro police supervisors, claiming they failed to administer department policy. The settlement agreement states the city denies liability "for any alleged unconstitutional acts."