One month before the case was to go to trial, the family of a man slain in March 2002 by Lake Station police settled a lawsuit for $950,000, the family's Chicago attorney John Winters said.

The suit named Lake Station, its Police Department, then-Chief Richard Arnold and Officer Brad Shrader, who fired the two shots that killed Brandon Haywood, 20, as well as officers who were present, Peter Baum and Scott Garzella.

The suit sought more than $1 million in damages for the alleged unjustified use of deadly force, the denial of the right to a fair trial and the right to equal protection under the law, despite the color of one's skin.

According to the lawsuit, at about 11 a.m. March 27, 2002, Haywood, who was black, walked down the center of Central Avenue in Lake Station, allegedly carrying one or two broken liquor bottles.

Haywood resisted Baum's attempt to wrestle him to the ground. After Haywood ignored Shrader's shouts to stop, the officer shot Haywood twice, resulting in one wound through the hand and into the chest, and another in the groin area, court records state.

A Lake County grand jury refused to indict any of the officers.