Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Elysian Mayor Tom McBroom over his 2017 tweet where he stated she would spend her settlement money on “crack cocaine.”
Related: Philando Castile’s Girlfriend Diamond Reynolds Receives $800K Settlement
Diamond and her four-year-old daughter were in the car with Philando when he was fatally shot in 2016 by former St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop.
She received a $800,000 settlement in November 2017 from the city of St. Anthony, the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust and the city of Roseville in connection with the shooting.
Once the news of the settlement was made public, Tom McBroom, who was a Rice County sheriff’s sergeant at the time, took to Twitter and tweeted:
She needs to come off County and State Aid now that she has some cash. It’ll be gone in 6 months on crack cocaine.
Following the tweet, McBroom was demoted by Sheriff Troy Dunn to deputy in February 2018 for “misconduct.”
Diamond Reynold’s lawsuit alleges Tom McBroom’s tweet was defamatory, false and racially motivated.
The Defendant was alleging that Plaintiff is an abuser of serious drugs, has an addiction that causes her financial stress, and is someone who bases her entire existence in terms of her costs of daily living on support from municipalities and other state of Minnesota entities.
The conduct of the Defendant delineated herein was intentional and constitutes intentional inflection of emotional distress.
McBroom claims his tweet is based on “history” not race.
I’ve seen them come to court. They’ve lost their children, but they come to court dressed to the nines with Michael Kors purses.
To be frank with you … I see it time and time again and I just shake my head and say why wasn’t there anyone to help that person?
Take him to the bank, Diamond!
Source: Star Tribune
