Lawsuit Against Officer Settled Out Of Court

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Was a Brandon Police Officer negligent with his gun?

The public may never know.

The lawsuit against Officer Tyler Carda that KELOLAND News reported last week has now been settled out of court, just days before the trial. 

Carda was facing a wrongful death lawsuit because the family of his former fiancée, Kristi Denny, said he was negligent with his gun and that's why their daughter died.

Back in July 2008, Denny died of a gunshot wound from Carda's Brandon Police Department issued gun just days after Denny left treatment for a prescription drug addiction and shortly after the two had broken off their engagement.

The death was ruled a suicide and Carda's attorneys say the officer had nothing to do with his former fiancée’s death.

Denny's family filed a lawsuit in 2009 saying Carda had left his loaded gun on the floor of the couple's apartment, and his negligent actions led to her death.

Last week, the two sides argued several motions in the case ahead of a four-day jury trial that was scheduled for next week, but both sides have now reached a settlement and the case will no longer be handled in court.

Terms of the settlement will remain confidential. When the Denny family filed the original lawsuit, they wanted Carda to pay back the life insurance policy he collected several months after their daughter's death.

The original lawsuit says that Carda collected a $50,000 life insurance policy after Denny died. One of the requests the Denny family made in the lawsuit was that the insurance policy be paid back with interest.

And while the final settlement will never be public in this case, the incident can now be put to rest when it comes to the courtroom.