Family of Fred Cox receives 4-million-dollar settlement, vows to continue to seek justice
A lawsuit filed against the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and Detective Michael Shane Hill on behalf of the family of Fred Cox Jr. has been settled, as announced by the High Point-based law firm McPherson & Mills. The federal lawsuit was submitted to the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, naming the DCSO and Detective Hill as the defendants.
The plaintiff in this case is Tenicka S. Shannon, the mother of Fred Cox and the administrator of his estate. The lawsuit was settled for $4 million and presented to the court for approval on Thursday. Fred Cox, an 18-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy during a funeral in North Carolina in November 2020.
The Cox family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, asserting that Cox was attempting to protect a mother and her son from a drive-by shooting at the time of the incident. Mr. Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Cox family, articulated at a press conference, "Fred is deceased for being a hero while Black."
The federal lawsuit sought damages on six counts, which included excessive force, wrongful death, battery, negligence, and violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The complaint alleged that Detective Hill employed "unreasonable and deadly force" against Cox while he was "safeguarding the lives of a mother and her young son." On November 8, 2020, Cox attended a memorial service for Jonas Thompson at Living Water Baptist Church in High Point. Detectives were investigating
Thompson's murder and the presence of Detective Hill at the funeral was requested by Thompson's family. As the crowd exited the funeral service, gunfire erupted from a drive-by shooting outside the church.
Cox, positioned in his vehicle in the parking lot, exited his car amid the chaos to assist the mother and her 12-year-old child seeking cover, as stated in the lawsuit. While Cox held the door open, Detective Hill shot him multiple times from behind, resulting in his death at the scene. He was the sole fatality in this incident.
Initially, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation reported that Detective Hill claimed to have seen Cox with a handgun at the time of the shooting, with additional witnesses supporting his account. However, Cox's family and their legal representatives contest this assertion, maintaining that he was unarmed. A legal representative for the mother and child who sought refuge inside the church contended that Cox could not have been holding a firearm, as he was using one hand to open the door and guiding them inside with the other.
Crump further indicated that Detective Hill continued to fire at all three individuals, resulting in a grazing wound to the boy's hand. In their emotional address to the media, the family of Fred Cox reaffirmed their commitment to pursuing justice, stating that they would continue their efforts "as long as it takes." They expressed their ongoing grief, emphasizing, "I cannot reiterate say thiis enough, over and over again that ‘Fred should not be dead.’..It has been nine long years."
