JANUARY 12, 2000. 15:10 EST, Associated Press:
LOS ANGELES (AP) &emdash; The family of a man killed during a drug raid that turned up no drugs will get $5 million in a settlement with Los Angeles County and the federal government.
Donald P. Scott, 61, was shot to death by a Los Angeles County deputy in 1992 when he emerged from his bedroom with a pistol, sleepy and slightly drunk.
His family contended authorities staged the raid as an excuse to seize the secluded 200-acre ranch under drug forfeiture laws.
Officials denied the allegations but said they agreed to settle the family's lawsuit because they feared jurors would not believe government agents, especially in the wake of the scandal in which a Los Angeles police officer said he and colleagues framed and sometimes shot innocent people.
Under the tentative settlement outlined Tuesday in federal court, the county will pay $4 million and the federal government $1 million.