The agreement was approved by the city’s Board of Estimates, which includes Baltimore’s mayor and is the body that oversees the city’s spending. Defense attorneys have asked for a change of venue, citing pre-trial publicity and concern that the officers won’t get fair trials if they’re tried in Baltimore. The first trial is scheduled for October 13. “It ensures that the end of the criminal trial is the end (of litigation) for those officers….”

All six officers, together with Edward Nero and Garrett Miller, are charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in workplace and reckless endangerment. All have pleaded not guilty. She added that the settlement bore no judgment on the officers’ guilt or innocence.

The settlement takes into consideration the totality of the unique circumstances surrounding and following the death of Mr. Gray and seeks to bring complete resolution to this matter. “On the other hand, the Freddie Gray episode is unusual in many ways, including its impact on the city overall”, he said.

Gov. Larry Hogan signed a bill in May that required the same thing and also included Baltimore County police.

Rawlings-Blake expressed her condolences to the Gray family.

The union’s president went on to say that the decision will further strain the already rocky relation between police officers and lawmakers in the city.

The city repeatedly stressed the civil settlement is not connected to the criminal case and admitted no wrongdoing in Gray’s death.

An autopsy report revealed Gray died of a “high-energy injury” that likely happened when the police van suddenly slowed down. He died on April. 19.

“What this settlement does is remove any civil liability from the six officers”, she said. “What this does is to ensure that at the end of the criminal trial, it is the end for those officers”. In the aftermath, Gray became a symbol of the contentious relationship between the police and the public in Baltimore, as well as the treatment of black men by police in America.

“The settlement is substantial”, Nilson said of the $6.4 million agreement. Baltimore paid an additional $5.8 million in legal fees for defending the police in those cases.

But other experts disagreed, saying such payouts do little to advance the conversation on police misconduct.

Gray’s family negotiated the deal with city attorneys, a source close to the family told CNN. “That ‘s something that would not be good for the city”, the attorney said. Murphy believes it may begin next month. He said the police department has the staffing and the riot gear if and when they’re needed. His case has emerged as one of the most visible symbols in the national debate over the death of black men in police custody.

The city’s lawyers suggested the civil case did have legs.