.S. National - AFP
New York settles police killing for three million dollars
Tue Jan 6, 3:59 PM ET
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NEW YORK (AFP) - New York officials announced settlement of a civil suit filed by the family of a Guinean immigrant killed in a hail of police bullets in 1999 -- an incident that triggered violent street protests.
"The City of New York today settled the civil suit involving the unfortunate death of Amadou Diallo, and has agreed to pay his family three million dollars," the municipal law department said in a statement.
The family had initially sought compensation of 62 million dollars.
Four policemen searching for a serial rapist fired 41 shots at Diallo as he was standing on the porch of a Bronx apartment house. The 22-year-old was hit 19 times.
The police said Diallo resembled the rape suspect and had appeared to be drawing a gun, which later turned out to be a wallet.
"In the split second they had to react, the police mistakenly believed that Mr. Diallo had a gun and discharged their weapons, causing Mr. Diallo's death," Tuesday's statement said.
"The mayor, the police department and the city deeply regret what occurred and extend their sympathies to the Diallo family," it added.
All four police officers were acquitted of murder after a mixed-race jury at their trial accepted the defense argument that the shooting had been "a tragic mistake," and that the policemen had had sufficient grounds for opening fire.
The acquittals sent waves of outrage through black and white communities alike and sparked several months of street protests.
In 2001, the US Justice Department (news - web sites) decided that federal civil rights charges were unwarranted, while an internal police investigation concluded that the officers made a mistake, but did not violate department rules on use of force.
Diallo's case was given even wider publicity after rocker Bruce Springsteen wrote a song in his honour called "American Skin (41 shots)."
Commenting on the three-million dollar payout, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said money was no substitute for a life. He also called for some awareness of the difficulties in which police officers often find themselves.
"You've got to understand, you've got 37,000 police officers out there ... and not everybody is always in a situation that the text books say, and we can always learn from ourselves," Bloomberg said.
Patrick Lynch, president of the police Patrolmen's Benevolent Association said the shooting had been a terrible tragedy for the Diallo family.
"It was also a tragedy for those police officers who ... were put in a very untenable situation and thought their lives were in danger," Lynch told the NY1 television network. "They went through a trial, they were acquitted ... It changed their lives as well."
Ich finde gerade den letzten Absatz Schweinerei...Die armen Polizisten - können einem ja richtig leid tun, dass sie einen Schwarzen hingerichtet haben... 
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