CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A wrongful death lawsuit against the West Virginia State Police has been settled for $85,000.
The State Journal reports that the police agency's insurance carrier will make the payment to the estate of Elton Wine of Marion County. The 71-year-old man went into cardiac arrest in 2012 after state police burst into his home and restrained him while they searched for another person wanted on a drug charge.
In a $1 million lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Clarksburg, Wine's ex-wife claimed police used excessive force and violated the Constitution's prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure. State police have said Wine was interfering with their search when he started having trouble breathing and became unresponsive.
This story has been corrected to show the name of the agency is West Virginia State Police, not Virginia State Police.