Officials in Baltimore have approved a $6.4 million settlement that will go to the family of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died while in police custody.
The city's police union has spoken out against Wednesday's approved settlement, saying the news "threatens to interrupt any progress made toward restoring the relationship" between cops and the city government, Lt. Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, told CNN.
Gray, who died April 19, sparked days of protests that at one point devolved into a riot. A grand jury indicted six officers involved in Gray's death in May. Each officer will be tried separately.
"All of us realize that money cannot, will not -- there's no possibility -- to bring back a loved one," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said of the settlement, according to CNN. "I hope that this settlement will bring a level of closure for the family, for the police department and for our city."
The mayor added that the settlement is not intended to suggest the officers' guilt. Still, Ryan referred to the settlement as a "ridiculous reaction."
Officers indicted in Freddie Gray's death (from left to right): Caesar R. Goodson Jr., Brian W. Rice, William G. Porter, Edward M. Nero, Alicia D. White and Garrett E. Miller.
The settlement is one of the largest in recent years in police death cases, The Associated Press reported. Last July, New York City paid a $5.9 million settlement to the family of Eric Garner, who was captured on video as an officer held him in a chokehold that led to his death. The officer involved was not indicted.
"This settlement represents an opportunity to bring closure to the Gray family, the community and the city," Rawlings-Blake said.