NYC settles $2.6M suit over man who died in custody

NEW YORK - The mother of a Bronx man who died of an asthma attack in police custody received a $2.55 million settlement from the city of New York.

Barrington “BJ” Williams, 25, was handcuffed in the Yankee Stadium subway station in 2013 after he was suspected of selling illegal MetroCard swipes. He died on the floor of the station as police officers stood over him.

His mother, Karen Brown, sued the city in 2015, the New York Daily News reported.

Williams' arrest was captured on surveillance cameras in the station. After the asthma attack began, officers rolled Williams on his side but did not give him CPR or retrieve an automated external defibrillator that was stored in the station, according to court documents.

"This case now shines a bright light on BJ’s life, which would have been saved if the officers had used their training," Brown’s attorneys Jason Leventhal and Joshua Moskovitz said in a statement.

The New York Police Department determined there was no wrongdoing by any officer. The city had argued that the officers did not have a constitutional obligation to provide CPR.

"Settling this longstanding and tragic case was in the best interests of all parties. We hope this agreement brings some measure of closure to the family,” the city's legal department said in a statement.