A $2 Million Deal is Reached With the Family of a Pregnant Woman Who Was Shot and Killed by Colorado Police

DENVER — A $2 million deal was reached between the city of Arvada and the family of a pregnant woman who was shot and killed by police because they thought she was a shoplifter.

Destinee Thompson, a mother of three from Denver, was killed on August 17, 2021, when she tried to drive away from police who had circled her car as she was leaving a motel in Arvada.

A spokesman for the Arvada Police Department, Dave Snelling, said that the lawsuit that Thompson’s family filed was settled in July. The payment was made public this week.

A case filed in Denver County District Court says that the shooting happened while police were looking for a Latina who had a knife in her hand while stealing a shopping cart full of items from a Target store.

The real suspect, who had also stolen from the store two days before, was wearing a white tank top and had a tattoo on her chest, and the claim said she was thought to have gone to the motel.

Thompson, who had no tattoos on his chest and wore a white tank top, was leaving the room to eat lunch when police arrived, the report said.

The claim said that after Thompson got into her minivan, she was blocked in by a police car. Officers then surrounded her, yelled, and broke a passenger window.

Thompson was scared and tried to back out of the parking spot, but she drove over the curb and into the road instead, and police said she wasn’t a threat.

The woman drove about 25 yards before Arvada Police Officer Anthony Benallo shot her eight times. The suit said that one of the shots killed Thompson and her pregnant child.

Benallo and the family’s lawyer, Siddhartha Rathod, could not be reached for comment.

In April 2022, District Attorney Alexis D. King chose not to bring charges against the cops.

“I think the officer had the legal right to use deadly physical force to protect himself and others from the threat,” King said in a statement.

Francis Thompson, Thompson’s father, said in 2023 that the police tried to play down the killing by keeping the report secret for more than a year.

He said, “This is the worst thing I’ve ever had to deal with.” “I want fairness.” It’s not fair that the police officers are still working without getting in trouble.

“I love her so much and will always fight for her. I wish I could tell her one more time.” I’m not going to let go.