DUBLIN, Ga. — David Hooks' widow and a former Laurens County investigator agreed Tuesday to settle her seven-year wrongful death lawsuit, according to records filed in the U.S. District Court in Dublin.
The records don't indicate whether money will change hands or how much, and the settlement isn't final until both sides submit a written final agreement to federal court sometime before April 30.
13WMAZ has been covering this case since Sept. 2014, when David Hooks was fatally shot during a failed drug raid at his home off Highway 319. Officers raided his home around 11 p.m. looking for drugs, but didn't find any.
Based on a tip, Laurens County investigator Chris Brewer asked a judge to approve a search warrant for the raid. Officers were looking for meth in Hooks' home, but found none.
The lawsuit by Hooks' widow, Teresa Pope Hooks, argued that the raid was illegal and never should have happened.
Her lawyers argue that Brewer "intentionally or recklessly" based the warrant on false information from a drug user and failed to verify the tip.
Tuesday's agreement cancels a jury trial scheduled to begin Monday, Feb. 28, in Dublin's federal court.
Timothy Buckley, Brewer's lead attorney, declined comment on Wednesday.
13WMAZ also reached out to Hooks' lawyer, Mitchell Shook. He sent us the following statement:
"Teresa Hooks is pleased to announce that she won her fight for justice for her husband, David Hooks. She has successfully settled her lawsuit against those responsible for the death of David Hooks.
She believes that her victory makes everyone safer in their homes – safer from the kind of reckless police home invasions which took the life of her husband.
Seven years and five months ago, David Hooks was gunned down in his own home, because of the sheer incompetence and willingness to intentionally violate the constitutional rights of David Hooks by the former sheriff Bill Harrell, former drug task force supervisor agent Chris Brewer, and the members of the sheriff's response team. The long journey to get justice for David Hooks has seen the individuals responsible for his death chastised by the United States District Court and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Even the Supreme Court of the United States refused to consider the Defendant's last appeal.
With jury selection set to begin Monday February 28 at the federal courthouse in Dublin, the court ordered a mediation take place before a United States Magistrate Judge. As a result of a day long mediation conducted on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the wrongful death civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of Teresa Hooks has been fully resolved. The terms of the settlement are confidential, but the terms were reached only when the Defendant met Mrs. Hooks demands.
Teresa Hooks and her entire family pray that their many years fighting for justice will send a clear message to law enforcement officers that you will be held accountable when you violate the constitutional rights of Georgia citizens."
According to court records, Laurens County is insured in this case through a pool run by the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.
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