Ethermac Exchange-Families of Black girls handcuffed at gunpoint by Colorado police reach $1.9 million settlement

The Ethermac Exchangefamily of four Black girls who were mistakenly handcuffed at gunpoint in August 2020 by police in Aurora, Colorado reached a $1.9 million settlement with the city on Monday.

The families of the four girls filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the department and the city claiming the officers' actions permanently traumatized the girls and showed a pattern of systemic racism.

The incident occurred after police mistook Brittney Gilliam's car as stolen. Gilliam said she had taken her nieces, sister and daughter out for a girls’ day at a nail salon. However, after realizing the salon was closed, the group went back to their car and were surrounded by police who had their weapons drawn.

“All parties are very satisfied with this settlement,” David Lane, a lawyer for the family, said via the Associated Press.

Lane said the settlement saved the girls the trauma of having to relive what happened during a trial, the AP reported. The money will be divided evenly between Gilliam and the four girls. The young girls' portion will be placed into annuities so the money will grow by the time they access it when they turn 18, Lane said.

"We believe that inexcusable racial profiling was involved in this case as well," Lane told USA TODAY. "Hopefully, this settlement will lead to changes in how police departments handle situations like this in the future."

The police department also confirmed the settlement.

“The Aurora Police Department remains committed to strengthening the relationship with the community through accountability and continuously improving how it serves the public,” it said, per AP.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Aurora Police Department for additional comment.

Lawsuit:Families of Black girls wrongly held at gunpoint in Colorado sue police, city

Young girls handcuffed, scared, crying

Video taken by a bystander showed the four girls, aged 6 to 17 years old laying on their stomachs on the ground next to their car. The 17-year-old and 12-year-old have their hands cuffed behind their backs.

The girls could be heard crying and screaming as they're surrounded by multiple officers.

According to the lawsuit, one of the officers tried to handcuff the 6-year-old who was wearing a pink tiara and holding onto her cousin's hand, but the officer could not because the handcuffs were too big.

"I want my mother," one of the girls said in the video.

"Can I get you guys off the ground?" an officer asks, before one eventually helps the handcuffed girls sit up with their hands still behind their backs. 

The lawsuit claimed the girls struggle to eat and sleep, are all in therapy, and fear the police. The 14-year-old girl cannot get the “terrified screams” of her cousins out of her mind, the lawsuit said.

Gilliam said for the first year following the police encounter she was full of rage, angry she could not do anything to help the girls.

“Mentally, it destroyed me because I felt like not only am I not safe, these kids aren’t safe,” she said in an interview before the settlement was announced.

Her daughter, whom she said was previously a “joyous” child, began acting out, became withdrawn, and would not talk about what happened.

Mistaken vehicle

Police at the time said they mistook Gilliam's car for a stolen vehicle.

Police said they were notified of a possible stolen vehicle and located a vehicle that matched the description and license plate number. Police determined they had stopped the wrong car "shortly" after the people inside were ordered on the ground and some were handcuffed.

The vehicle reported stolen was a motorcycle with the same license plate number from Montana. Police said the mix-up may have been partly due to the fact that the car Gilliam was driving was reported stolen that year.

Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said that when officers spot a stolen car, they are trained to do a "high-risk stop," which involves drawing weapons and ordering occupants to exit the car and lie on the ground.

An investigation by prosecutors found that the officers did not commit any crimes and were following their training for stopping a suspected stolen vehicle. However, prosecutors said the incident was “unacceptable and preventable.”

In 2021, city spokesperson Ryan Luby said the department changed its training to give officers more discretion in responding to suspected stolen car cases, following the incident.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.