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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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LA to pay sister of actor shot at Halloween party $225,000
Wednesday April 09, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to
pay $225,000 to the sister of an actor shot to death at a Halloween
party when he pointed a fake gun at a police officer responding to
a noise complaint.
Anthony Dwain Lee, 39, was shot in the head and back on Oct. 28,
2000, after he pointed a rubber replica revolver at Officer Tarriel
Hopper.
Lee had appeared on such TV shows such as ``ER'' and ``NYPD
Blue,'' and had a small role in the hit Jim Carrey movie ``Liar
Liar,''
The Los Angeles Police Commission ruled the shooting did not
violate police policy, adding Hopper was justified in using deadly
force because he feared his life was in danger. City officials said
they were confident they would have prevailed in court but didn't
want to subject Lee's family to a trial.
``This was a really tragic incident, and it was important to
resolve the matter, to both sides, before going through the events
at trial once again,'' said Eric Moses, a city attorney's
spokesman.
The actor's sister, Tina Lee-Vogt, had sought $100 million from
the city before filing suit in Superior Court.
Her attorney, Johnnie Cochran Jr., said he was satisfied with
the settlement.
``It's never enough, from a standpoint of a loss of a life and a
relative, but you have to weigh all the factors,'' he said. ``It's
not a large sum of money, but it is a recognition that she is
entitled to recover.''
Witnesses said it wasn't clear if Lee knew Hopper was an officer
because several party guests were wearing police costumes.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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