Almost $1M settlement in Wyoming police shooting of man

A city in Wyoming has settled a lawsuit over a fatal shooting by two police officers.

Attorneys for the estate of John Randall Veach said Tuesday they settled the lawsuit for $925,000 in damages.

Rawlins Police Sgt. Jared Frakes and Officer Joe Balestrieri shot and killed the Fort Collins, Colorado, man in a gas station parking lot in December 2015.

A prosecutor from a county elsewhere in Wyoming concluded the shooting was justified. Attorneys for Veach’s estate say the officers killed him “execution style” while he was trying to drive away. They say the officers weren’t in danger and killed Veach without reason.

They say the department failed to discipline its officers.

Rawlins City Attorney Amy Bach and City Manager Scott Hannum did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.