$1.75 Million Settlement Reached In Suit Over Pa. Officer’s Death
The city and the widow of a police officer mistakenly shot by another officer in 2004 have reached a tentative $1.75 million settlement of a civil suit over the death.The City Council will be asked Monday to approve the settlement reached after negotiations with attorneys for Denise L. Wise, who filed suit against the city and the other officer.
“It’s an agreement that was reached in the best interest of both parties,” Mayor Tom McMahon said. Under the agreement, the city will pay a total of $750,000 in three installments and an insurance policy will pay $1 million.
Michael Wise II, 32, of Myerstown, and two other patrolmen were working undercover on June 4, 2004, when a gunfight erupted. Officer James Palange arrived on the scene and mistakenly fired at the undercover officers.
Prosecutors charged another man, Andrew Lee Smith, accusing him of firing a shot that started the gunfight with police. Smith was acquitted of murder but convicted of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault and sentenced to 13 1/2 to 27 years in state prison.
Palange was fired but appealed the dismissal, saying in court papers that he had not known there were undercover officers in his patrol area. The appeal was delayed by the lawsuit and is expected to resume if the settlement is approved.