Killed rapper’s family wants police to pay off $2.1m

The family of murdered rapper Notorious BIG is seeking $2.1m (Ј1.16m) in costs stemming from civil action it brought against the city of Los Angeles.

Notorious BIG - whose real name was Christopher Wallace - was killed on a street in Los Angeles in March 1997, after seven shots were fired into his vehicle.

Police closed an investigation into his death earlier this year, saying there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

Attorneys for the family have also asked a federal judge to award them more than $2 million in attorneys’ fees and costs after finding that another LAPD officer hid key evidence in his desk, forcing a mistrial in the case.

"There is a settlement package being brought to them today," said Perry Sanders, a lawyer for the family of the rapper born Christopher Wallace, who was shot to death at the age of 24 while leaving a party in Los Angeles.

"We're giving the city the chance to stand up and do the right thing and not be painted with the really ugly brush that people in the LAPD could be painted with," Sanders was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The Los Angeles City Council met in closed session to discuss the payout, but at least one of the 15-member council has called a settlement unlikely.

"I'm not prepared to pay $18 million to settle that case," Councilman Dennis Zine, a former police officer, told the Los Angeles Times.

In June 2003, lawyers acting for the city of Los Angeles said they had provided all internal documents related to the case - which had accused a corrupt police officer of arranging the chart-topping New York rapper's murder.

But new evidence was uncovered from police files in 2004 and again during the brief civil trial in June this year, BBC reminds.

The documents uncovered during the civil trial detail Detective Steven Katz's investigation of a prison informant's claim that former LAPD officers Rafael Perez and David Mack were involved in killing the 24-year-old rapper.

This led US judge Florence-Marie Cooper to state that a police detective had intentionally concealed the documents and declare a mistrial last month.

Photo by BBC.