The city of Nashville will settle a lawsuit with the family of one of four victims shot to death inside of a Waffle House restaurant.
The Metro Council voted Tuesday to approve a $35,000 payment to the family of Akilah DaSilva, one day ahead of the two-year anniversary of the attack in which he was killed by a gunman with an assault-style rifle.
DaSilva’s mother, Shaundelle Brooks, filed a lawsuit against the city in April 2019 alleging that GPS errors first sent dispatchers to the wrong Waffle House location on April 22, 2018, delaying response time and contributing to her son’s death, news outlets reported.
The city filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last year but it was not granted and the city’s Department of Law has contended it could likely win the case, but it would be expensive, The Tennessean reported.
In October, the council asked the city to adopt a policy on how police handle GPS coordinates, the newspaper said. A lawyer for Brooks said that under the terms of the Tuesday settlement, Brooks intends to submit proposals for similar policy changes to the council for consideration.
Travis Reinking pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in February 2019. Authorities alleged he was nearly naked and wearing only a green jacket when he began shooting in the restaurant before a patron wrestled the rifle away from him.
