Settlement reached in Henderson shooting lawsuit

The Associated Press Posted: 08/13/2009 05:15:52 PM PDT HENDERSON, Nev.—A $700,000 settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a woman shot by a Henderson police officer in 2008. Ice cream truck driver Zyber Selimaj sought at least $25 million in damages in the federal civil rights lawsuit. Selimaj’s wife, Deshira Selimaj, was shot as she was attempting to help her Armenian-born husband communicate with police after he was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Police reported that the 42-year-old woman raised a knife and a coroner’s inquest jury later ruled the shooting was justified. Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards says the city stands by the inquest’s outcome but that city officials thought it was best to settle. A call from The Associated Press to Selimaj’s attorney, Marc Saggese, was not immediately returned Thursday. ———