Houston May Pay Jordan Baker's Family $1.2 Million For Wrongful Death

Source: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty

Houston May Pay Jordan Baker’s Family $1.2 Million For Wrongful Death

26-year-old Jordan Baker was unarmed when he was viciously gunned down by Houston Police Department’s narcotics officer Juventino Castro back in 2014. Castro would go on to be cleared of any wrongdoing in Jordan’s death.

2014 was during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement and Jordan Baker was one of many Black men and women who’s death sparked the nationwide movement.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Jordan’s family may be receiving a settlement, among the largest ever, from the city despite the fact that they refused to hold their trigger-happy bacon boy accountable. Funny how that works.

The $1.2 million proposal is set to be considered by the city council on Wednesday will be the biggest payout since 2008 when the city paid $1.5 million to the family of 14-year-old Eli Escobar who was gunned down by a punk rookie cop.

“I am happy that Janet Baker is getting some justice, even though she can’t bring her son back,” said Ashton P. Woods, of Houston’s BLM chapter. “She deserves this peace.”

Here’s the short version of how Jordan had his life stolen from him:

Castro, a 10-year Houston Police Department veteran at the time of the shooting, was working an extra security job at a strip mall in the 5700 block of West Little York that had been the site of several robberies. Police said Castro pursued Baker because he matched the suspect in the break-ins, after which Baker became belligerent and charged the officer.

Baker was shirtless and posed no life-threatening danger to Castro, but alas, he’s dead all the same.

This settlement comes as U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson dropped truth and knowledge during the trail noting the following stat of disappointing interest:

Johnson also noted that, from 2009 to 2014, HPD’s internal affairs division found that each of the 194 intentional shootings of civilians, including 80 who were unarmed, over that period were justified.

SMH. A million dollars won’t do a damn thing to comfort Jordan Baker’s family more than his living presence on Earth but we’re glad that they are getting at least a modicum of acknowledgment of Juventino Castro’s wrongdoing.