Judge Approves $1.2 Million Settlement Following Deputy-Related Shooting

The family of a Rockingham County man who was killed by a sheriff's deputy has settled a civil suit for over $1 million. 

Thirty-eight-year-old Todd Burroughs of Stoneville died in a deputy-related shooting in May of 2016.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Burrough's widow and their two children.

The News & Record reports U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe L. Webster approved the $1.2 million settlement in early January.

The suit listed Sheriff Sam Page and Deputy Frank Martin along with the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

Martin and Deputy Chase Myers were trying to subdue Burroughs when he rushed them and grabbed a steel baton. Martin shot Burroughs after repeated warnings to drop the baton.

The State Bureau of Investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing and said the use of force was justified.

The civil suit asserted the deputies used excessive force. Lawyers for the Burroughs family cited the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

County officials maintain they were opposed to the settlement, and say that decision was ultimately made by the insurance company.