Mount Joy Borough Council at Tuesday night’s meeting approved a settlement with the family of Robert Neill, Jr.. The 61 year old Mount Joy man died in November 2010 shortly after police maced and hit him with a taser gun multiple times. Five police officers, two State, two Borough and a Susquehanna Regional Police officer responded to Neil’s home, in the 300 block of Marietta Avenue, after Neill called 911 to say his neighbors were harassing him. The officers claimed that Neill was combative and ignored their demands to get on the ground.
Neighbors felt that the Vietnam War veteran’s mental disabilities may have played a role in his behavior. Neill’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the Borough, the two Borough police officers, the two Pennsylvania State Troopers, the Susquehanna Regional Police officer and the Arizona based manufacture of the taser gun,Taser International.
Under terms of the settlement agreement, members of the Neill family and the Neill estate will receive $900,000 and release from any liability, the Borough and the two Borough police officers.
Borough Council agreed that the settlement of the federal lawsuit was the appropriate course of action to avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation and to resolve the matter with the family. The amount of money was arrived at in discussions between the Borough insurance carrier and representatives of the Neill family. The insurance carrier will play the $900,000 amount. None of the money will come from Borough funds.