October 31, 2000
A Wayne County jury awarded $6 million
Tuesday to the family of a woman struck and
killed by a Detroit police scout car in a 1998
accident.
``This was a killing of a citizen by a police officer and the police blamed the victim,'' said Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who represented the woman's family.
The August 1998 accident occurred when Wanda Cottrell, 39, was walking across Jefferson Street, east of downtown, with her fiance, around 10:15 p.m. A scout car driven by Detroit Police Officer Fred Scott struck them, tossing Cottrell into the air. Her fiance, James Braswell, crashed through the car's windshield and into the front seat.
Cottrell was in a coma for 25 days before she died. Braswell survived. The city previously settled a lawsuit with him. Terms of that settlement are secret.
Scott filed a report after the accident saying the two pedestrians darted in front of his car and he couldn't stop, Fieger said. Scott said he was chasing a Cadillac for a traffic infraction, but Fieger said witnesses testified at trial that the scout car had no lights on - not even headlights - and that Scott staggered when he got out of the car and appeared as if he had been drinking.
The two-week trial before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Louis Simmons ended Tuesday. The jury took about two hours to reach the verdict.
The jury's award was for $7 million. After factoring in the role the victim played in the accident plus interest, the final award was for $6 million.
The family of a woman hit and killed by a Detroit police car was awarded $7 million in a lawsuit against the city of Detroit on Tuesday.
It was a busy summer Saturday night two years ago when Wanda Cottrell crossed Jefferson Avenue and was struck and killed by a Detroit police car.
"It's been a traumatic experience," Eleanor Davis, Wanda's mother, said. "Although it won't bring my daughter back, we have at least come to some closure. But I feel that it's not over yet."
"This case involves fraud, deceit, cover-up," Geoffrey Fieger, the family's attorney, said. "If this is the way the city of Detroit Police Department operates, then we are all in trouble."
A key element to the case was a bottle of alcohol that witnesses claimed was removed from the police cruiser. Some witnesses said the officer appeared intoxicated, but he was never tested.
Another issue was police treatment of the family.
"We didn't hear about my sister's accident until two days after the fact," Aurelia Cottrell said.
Then it was the hospital that called, telling the family their daughter was in a coma.
Fieger is now calling on the Wayne County prosecutor to bring criminal charges against Officer Fred Scott, Jr.
"The warrant was turned down because the report sent to him was false, completely and utterly false, and there needs to be a reopening of this case," Fieger said.
The family wants the officer charged with negligent homicide. Meanwhile, the city of Detroit may appeal the $7 million verdict.