Baltimore's spending panel is set to award $175,000 under a proposed settlement to the estate of a man shot and killed by police.
The Board of Estimates is expected to approve the settlement Wednesday brought by Alice Monroe on behalf of the estate of Michael Omar Wudtee, a 38-year-old Randallstown man who died after being shot by police in 2012. Wudtee's estate sought $10 million for his death.
About 10 p.m. on July 1, 2012, Officer Paul Heffernan and his partner were at a gas station at Liberty Heights and Gwynn Oak avenues in Northwest Baltimore when they heard a woman by the gas pumps screaming, according to a memo about the settlement presented to the board.
Heffernan said he saw Wudtee punching a woman — whom police have identified as his girlfriend — and attempted to get Wudtee's attention. When Wudtee saw the officer, he ran, according to the memo.
Heffernan chased Wudtee and eventually caught up to him. Wudtee continued to resist arrest, and as the two struggled, Heffernan's gun became exposed. The officer was able to unholster his weapon and fire one shot, allowing him to get free from Wudtee, according to the memo.
Wudtee died as a result of the shooting. Heffernan was treated for his injuries.
City lawyers encouraged officials to settle the lawsuit, citing the unpredictability of jury verdicts and conflicting accounts, including an eyewitness account that "differed in some material respects."
Attempts to reach Monroe and Wudtee's family and their lawyers were unsuccessful. Neither Heffernan nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.
In another case, the board is being asked to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Josephine Utley against the city. Utley was injured June 4, 2012, when a city employee, Henry Jose Prioleau, backed a trash truck into a sedan she was driving.
Prioleau was attempting to return to a missed stop when he hit the vehicle Utley was driving, crushing its hood and breaking the windshield. She sought $170,000 in damages.
Neither Utley nor Prioleau could be reached for comment.
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