Michael Reif

Justine Ruszczyk Damond called 911 to report a woman screaming behind her house, then walked out in her pajamas to meet the squad car. Officer Mohamed Noor shot her from the passenger seat. Minneapolis settled with her family for $20 million in May 2019, more than four times the largest police payout in the city's history.

Terrance Winborn was booked into the Scott County Jail on a suspected DUI. A bacterial infection went untreated in custody until it caused septic shock, a heart attack and gangrene, and surgeons amputated both of his arms below the elbows. The county and its insurer settled his Section 1983 claim for $12.2 million.

Dr. Philip Gattuso, a 49-year-old Fargo dentist, was beaten to death with a hammer in his home in October 2009. His father-in-law, Gene Kirkpatrick, had paid a hit man $3,000 with $10,000 more promised, because he wanted custody of Gattuso's young daughter. Kirkpatrick is serving life without parole. In July 2013, after a bench trial on damages, Judge Lisa Fair McEvers entered a $9,656,139.50 wrongful-death judgment for the girl and the estate. Kirkpatrick says he cannot pay any of it.

Philando Castile told a St. Anthony officer he was carrying a licensed firearm and was shot seconds later during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. After the officer's acquittal, his mother settled the family's wrongful death claims for $2.995 million without ever filing a federal lawsuit.

A twelve-year-old girl died while in the care of a residential treatment facility in North Dakota. Her parents' federal civil rights action was dismissed by the district court, reinstated by the Eighth Circuit in 2022, and settled on remand for $2.9 million, reported as the largest known civil rights settlement in the state.