Maryland Agrees to settlement in Central Booking Beating Death of Unarmed Black Man - Attacked by 25 Officers

The Maryland Attorney General's Office has agreed to a settlement with the relatives of a man who was beaten to death at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center after a struggle involving correctional officers.  Relatives of Raymond Smoot have agreed to drop their $130 million wrongful death lawsuit in exchange for the settlement. Dwight Pettit, an attorney who represents the family members, says it was the family's decision to settle. He wouldn't disclose the amount.  The settlement will have to be approved by the Board of Public Works.

Smoot was killed in May 2005 after a struggle broke out involving 25 to 30 correctional officers. Relatives of prisoner Raymond Keith Smoot said he was "savagely beaten" by guards. At a news conference they arranged at a niece's home, family members provided photos they took after Smoot's initial treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital; the photos show his face covered in bruises, his eyes blackened and blood-soaked gauze in his mouth.
"They cracked my uncle's skull," said the niece, Delvonna Smoot. "They crushed his face. This did not look like the Raymond Smoot we knew." [MORE] and [MORE]