Family accepts $587K
Wrongful death suit settled by city
The Commercial Appeal
The family of a 24-year-old man killed by two Memphis Police officers in 2013 agreed to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit with the city for $587,000, according to court documents released Friday.
The family of Steven Askew filed the federal lawsuit in 2014 after Askew was shot multiple times Jan. 17, 2013, as Memphis Police officers Matthew Dyess and Ned Aufdenkamp responded to a loud music complaint.
“The settlement dismisses the city and the involved officers from any and all claims arising from this unfortunate incident,” City Attorney Bruce McMullen said in a statement. “This settlement is in the best interest of all the parties involved.”
The city will pay Askew’s
family $400,000 within 30 days, $89,583.33 by Dec. 14, and the remainder by July 7, 2017, according to the settlement agreement approved July 29 by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Anderson.
Dyess and Aufdenkamp, both named in the lawsuit, were still employed by MPD as of August, earning $56,148 annually.
Askew was sleeping in his car as he waited for his girlfriend at Windsor Place Apartments in Southeast Memphis when the two officers arrived around 9:30 p.m. after responding to a different address. The officers shot at Askew 22 times, striking him nine times, once in the neck and twice in the arms.
An examination of public records by The Commercial Appeal revealed inconsistencies in the officers’ statements the day of the shooting and the official statement four days later.
The night of the shooting, Dyess and Aufdenkamp told an officer Askew shot at them. Four days later, the officers said in their official statements that Askew pointed a gun at them.
Aufdenkamp told detectives Askew pointed the gun using his left hand. But Askew was righthanded, his family said. Dyess said Askew pointed the gun with his right hand. Photos from the crime scene show Askew was holding a cigar in his right hand.
Key physical evidence was missing, including fingerprints on Askew’s Cobra 380 handgun and shell casings. The shooting was labeled as justifiable by police investigators.