:quality(70)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/ED3DWC2B5RDERBY7UNVSZ6PTUQ.jpg)
A man on the verge of receiving an undisclosed financial settlement from Baltimore after he was assaulted by a city police officer in 2014 has died, according to his attorney.
Kollin Truss, 35, died late last month while at home with his girlfriend, said Tony Garcia, his attorney.
Garcia said he did not know Truss' cause of death.
He said Truss was "definitely looking forward" to improving his and his kids' lives with the settlement money.
"He wanted to be a good father," Garcia said.
Truss was assaulted by Officer Vincent E. Cosom in June 2014. Video of the incident came to light that September, showing Cosom landing a series of blows to Truss' head and body at a bus stop, and quickly went viral.
Cosom pleaded guilty to assault in the case and received a six-month sentence in May 2015. Truss filed a civil lawsuit against the city, and reached the settlement recently — just as the case was going to trial, Garcia said.
Garcia declined to provide the settlement amount, but said it should go before the Board of Estimates soon. Once approved, the money will go to Truss' estate for the benefit of his children, he said.
Breaking News Alerts
Mayor Catherine Pugh's office did not respond to a request for details about the settlement Thursday.
Garcia said Truss had substance-abuse problems and struggled with holding down a permanent job, but was always working odd jobs around the city and saw the settlement as a way to gain some stability and to move away from Baltimore.
"It's a tragedy. He suffered a lot in this process," Garcia said. "He felt ridiculed and embarrassed that he was that guy that was beaten up by the police, and he felt angry about that."
Truss had directed some of his energy toward protest, including during those surrounding the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in 2015, Garcia said. Truss was arrested during rioting in the city in April 2015 and later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, for yelling "[Expletive] the police!" at officers, who said he refused to move out of the way for a fire truck to pass.
Once the settlement came, Garcia said, Truss planned to move with his son to Florida "and start a new life."