Jury awards $9M to family of woman killed by police

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California jury has awarded $9 million to the family of a woman fatally shot seven times by police in 2017.

The jury reached the verdict in favor of 37-year-old Sinuon Pream’s family in federal court in Long Beach on Friday. Pream was shot by Long Beach officers on Jan. 15, 2017 after she refused repeated orders to drop a knife.

Long Beach police said at the time that Pream had threatened civilians with the knife, swung it at officers and advanced on them. They say they tried to use a stun gun to no effect.

Pream’s family says she suffered from mental illness and officers should have done more to de-escalate the situation. They also point to an autopsy that shows three bullet wounds to Pream’s back.