Family of man killed by RPD officer receives $1.25M in wrongful death settlement
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The family of a man shot and killed by a Raleigh police officer received a $1.25 million settlement.
Our newsgathering partners at the News & Observer confirmed the settlement through court documents. The documents show that despite the settlement neither the family or Raleigh Police Department accepted wrongdoing in the case.
The case dates back to April 2019. That's when 30-year-old Soheil Mojarrad reportedly stole a customer's cellphone at the Sheetz on New Bern Avenue.
When officer William Brett Edwards arrived, Mojarrad ran off. Edwards went after him and eventually shot Mojarrad between 6-8 times.
Edwards never turned on his body camera, but he said Mojarrad threatened him with a knife and that's why he opened fire.
Mojarrad's family denies that allegation. They said that while a knife was found at the scene of the shooting, there's no evidence Mojarrad handled it. Plus, he was a significant distance from the officer when shot.
"On April 20, 2019, Mr. Mojarrad was not suspected of any serious or violent crime," the lawsuit read. "He did not confront Defendant Edwards or otherwise threaten him. Rather he attempted, unarmed, to flee from Defendant Edwards to avoid confrontation with the police officer."
The deadly shooting sparked a number of protests and calls for greater transparency by law enforcement. Raleigh Police Department did change its body camera policy in the wake of the shooting.
A representative for Mojarrad's family said Edwards and his legal team decided to settle the court case two days before it was set to go to trial.
