Francis Thompson and Carmela Delgado, father and step-mother of Destinee Thompson, sit for a portrait in the law offices of Rathod Mohamedbhai in Denver, Colo., on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. Destinee Thompson, who was then 27 and pregnant, was killed by Arvada police in 2021 when they mistook her for a shoplifting suspect and shot her as she drove away from them. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
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Arvada pays $2 million to settle lawsuit after police officer killed pregnant woman

The city of Arvada paid $2 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit over the 2021 police killing of a pregnant woman whom officers mistook for an armed shoplifting suspect.

Destinee Thompson’s surviving family members filed the lawsuit in 2023, two years after an Arvada police officer killed Thompson, a 27-year-old mother of three, and her unborn son as Thompson drove away from officers on Aug. 17, 2021.

The city settled the lawsuit in July, court records show. The Denver Post confirmed the settlement on Tuesday.

“This matter was settled some time ago, but due to complexities related to Ms. Thompson’s estate, this case was recently finalized in the courts,” Arvada police Detective David Snelling said in a statement Tuesday.

He noted that First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King found Thompson’s killing was legal and that she did not file criminal charges against the officer who fired.

The city did not admit liability in the settlement, Snelling said.

Thompson’s attorney, Siddhartha Rathod, said Tuesday that Thompson did nothing wrong before she was killed.

Read the article in its entirety at : https://www.coloradohometownweekly.com/2025/01/14/arvada-police-settlement-2-million-pregnant-woman-killed/