Australian woman's family hires Castile attorney
The family of an Australian woman fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer has hired the attorney who represented the family of black motorist Philando Castile, who was also shot and killed by an area officer.
Minneapolis attorney Bob Bennett told The Associated Press in an email Thursday that he is representing Justine Ruszczyk's family.
Bennett's firm recently reached multi-million dollar settlements which were initiated by high profile fatal police shootings. Last month, Bennett and the mother of Castile reached a nearly $3 million agreement with the city of St. Anthony. In 2016, St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez shot and killed Castile during a traffic stop.
Bennett also represented the family of Dawn Pfister, who was shot and killed by Chaska police in 2014. That settlement was worth nearly $2 million.
Bennett said in an email that Ruszczyk's fiance Don Damond and members of the family had contacted him about a possible lawsuit. Damond didn't respond to a request for a comment, but on Monday he said the family has been told little about what happened on the night of the shooting.
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