$3 Million Awarded to Bronx Mom Whose Son Was Killed in Drug Raid

The mother of a man killed by police a decade ago during a drug raid was awarded nearly $3 million on Thursday by a Bronx appeals court.
 
Malcolm Ferguson, 23, was shot in the head by a narcotics officer in 2000. Police said he was a drug suspect who struggled when they stopped him. Prosecutors called the shooting an accident and did not charge the officer.
 
Ferguson's mother, Juanita Young, was initially awarded $10.5 million in 2007. The city appealed and the verdict was thrown out. The three-judge panel reinstated the award, but reduced the amount.
 
Young's attorney, Seth Harris, said he hopes prosecutors will take a fresh look at the case.
 
The Bronx district attorney's office said the report issued after the shooting that determined no charges would be filed speaks for itself. The city law department said it was disappointed with the decision.
 
In the years since her son's death, Young, a small woman who is legally blind, became a fierce activist, calling for an end to police brutality. She has appeared at the trials of officers accused of misconduct, and has marched with the Rev. Al Sharpton.
 
Young previously won another lawsuit against the police department. She said officers pushed her down a flight of stairs, tearing ligaments in her hand, during an eviction at her Bronx home in 2003. Young was initially awarded $1.35 million, but ended up with about $550,000 after similar legal wrangling, Harris said.