PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — Prince George's County has agreed to pay the family of William Green $20 million dollars in regard to his fatal January shooting. But where will the money for the settlement come from?
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced the county had come to an agreement with the Green family over a settlement Monday. Green died eight months ago after authorities said a police officer shot and killed him while he was handcuffed in the front seat of a police cruiser.
Alsobrooks said the money for the settlement would come from Prince George's County's budget.
"This is a liability that we wish we didn't have and if the question is, 'how do we afford it', this is not the way we want to spend taxpayers dollars, which is why we're doing everything we can to make sure we're never here again," she said.
Unclear at this point is where exactly in Prince George's County's budget the money will come from.
The county executive did not directly answer that when questioned Monday.
However, Prince George's County has had to deal with even bigger budget disruptions recently.
This spring, the county had to figure out how to fill a $134 million dollar revenue gap in its budget due to the coronavirus' spread.
County documents show Prince George's County ultimately overcame that obstacle by partially relying on money from its reserve fund, among other things.
The county recently passed a budget that fell just a little under $4.5 billion.