The widow of a Lakewood police officer killed by friendly fire in the line of duty has dropped a federal lawsuit against the city as part of an agreement to collect $3.5 million in settlement claims.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver by Tamara Davies, widow of slain Officer James Davies, was dismissed with prejudice Sept. 7, according to court documents filed in the case.
“All of Plaintiff’s claims against all of the Defendants are dismissed with prejudice, each party to pay his, her or its own attorney’s fees and costs,” according to the dismissal order.
James Davies, 35, was fatally shot Nov. 9, 2012, in the 1900 block of Eaton Street by Officer Devaney Braley, who mistook his colleague for an armed suspect.
Police had been responding to reports of shots fired in the area.
A June 2013 review of the incident found multiple missteps by Lakewood police and Davies, resulting in his accidental death.
The Jefferson County district attorney’s office cleared Braley of criminal wrongdoing.
Tamara Davies filed the lawsuit, alleging police incompetence and naming the city, its police department and multiple individual officers as defendants, in 2014.
In May, parties involved in the lawsuit “reached a tentative agreement” that the Davies’ estate “would dismiss all claims” in exchange for $3.5 million, according to a Lakewood ordinance approved by the City Council and signed by Mayor Adam Paul.
The ordinance, signed and approved May 24, read, in part: “The City Council finds that payment of the agreed-upon amount is in the best interests of the City, the individuals involved in the litigation, the Estate of James Davies and the Davies family.”
