Fairfax County has agreed to a $2 million Virginia wrongful death settlement regarding the death of 37-year-old Salvatore Culosi in 2006. The settlement was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at the beginning of the year.
Five years ago, police went to serve a warrant on, Culosi, a gambling suspect with no criminal record or violent past. Culosi, a respected local optometrist, does not resist police and does not have a weapon, but during the incident a SWAT team member’s gunwent off and killed the man. While Fairfax County argued that the gun went off by accident, a number of experts confirmed that the accidental gunfire was impossible and that having an armed SWAT team in the first place was not called for. The SWAT team member who pulled the trigger was not charged for the deadly incident.
The wrongful death settlement will be shared by Culosi’s parents and three siblings.