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Settlement reached in shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis has reached a $795,000 wrongful death settlement with the family of a 22-year-old African American man who was shot and killed by police in 2013, ending years of extended litigation.

The president of the Minneapolis City Council, which signed off on the agreement Friday, called the death of Terrence Franklin and the injury of two officers in the line of duty a tragedy. Lisa Bender said she hoped the settlement would allow “everyone to have some resolution to move forward.”

Franklin’s death seven years ago sparked outrage, as protesters and civil rights activists — together with the enhanced audio of a bystander’s video — challenged the official version of events.

Police said Franklin was a burglary suspect, killed by SWAT team members in a dark, south Minneapolis basement after he grabbed an MP5 submachine gun and shot and injured two officers — a contention denied by the family and their attorneys. They said police ignored the more likely scenario of accidental or negligent discharge and failed to carry out gunshot residue testing on the suspect’s body. An internal police investigation cleared the officers and a grand jury said there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

But in an appeals court filing, the victim’s father, Walter Louis Franklin II, said the bystander’s video pointed to a 70-second gap between the time when the first shots were fired and the time officers shot his son — raising questions as to whether the unarmed suspect was in fact a threat. His attorneys argued his son was trying to surrender when he was shot. He died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Mother held on felony assault

MANKATO (AP) — A Mankato mother has been arrested and accused of causing injuries that left her young child on life support.

A complaint filed in Blue Earth County charges 27-year-old Chelsea Rae Olinger with felony assault.

Authorities said she brought her unresponsive 16-month-old child to the Mankato hospital Monday where surgery was done to relieve bleeding on the brain. The toddler was transferred to a Rochester hospital.

Court documents say the child has seven rib fractures, two broken vertebrae and a lacerated liver. Olinger told investigators the toddler fell down a flight of stairs.

Officials said she also told investigators she might have hit her child’s head on the side of a crib and that she put her hand over the child’s month in an attempt to get the toddler to stop crying.

She was arrested Thursday at the hospital.

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