SAN FRANCISCO—A man who spent more than six years in prison after police framed him for murder is expected to receive a $13.1 million settlement from city of San Francisco on Tuesday, March 19.
The Board of Supervisors scheduled a vote to approve the payment to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Jamal Trulove.
Trulove was an aspiring actor and hip-hop artist when he was arrested in the 2007 murder of his friend and neighbor in a low-income housing project. A jury convicted him of murder in 2010 and he was sentenced to life in prison.
San Francisco to pay $13.1 million to man framed for murder https://t.co/FCeZT1an15
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) March 19, 2019
An appeals court overturned the conviction in 2014 and ordered a new trial. He was acquitted in a 2015 retrial. Three years later, Trulove sued the police department and four officers claiming they fabricated evidence, coerced a key eyewitness, and withheld vital information that may have exonerated Trulove.
A federal jury last year determined the two lead homicide detectives had violated Trulove’s civil rights and awarded him $14.5 million. Trulove accepted the $13.1 million offer in exchange for the city’s dropping of its appeal. The jury cleared two other officers of wrongdoing.
SF reaches $13.1M settlement with man framed by police for murder
via @mdbarbahttps://t.co/KasmdChXkf
— SF Examiner (@sfexaminer) March 19, 2019
The jury found that detectives showed an eyewitness a single photo of Trulove rather than presenting the person with photos of other people as part of a “lineup” to identify a suspect. Evidence also was produced showing the detectives were aware of another suspect who they failed to investigate, among other investigative failures.
The four officers named in Trulove’s lawsuit have retired.
By Paul Elias
