Lawsuit Settled, One Journey Over, Another Begins...

The long public legal journey ended Tuesday for Roy Rice and Sue Garber - days of protesting outside Denver police headquarters, meetings with lawyers, and eventually the mayor, before finally learning that a lawsuit born of their daughter's death was settled.

Now begins the private, painful journey of the rest of their lives.

"There are no new memories of Emily," Rice said. "No new contacts with Emily. The rest of the world is missing a wonderful person."

Rice and Garber stood in front of the City and County Building the morning after the Denver City Council voted 11-1 to award the family $3 million as part of a wrongful death settlement.

Emily Rice died Feb. 19, 2006, after she was involved in a car crash and was taken to Denver Health Medical Center. She was then transferred to the city jail, where she was booked on suspicion of drunken driving.

While in her holding cell, she was suffering from internal injuries and, over the course of 20 hours, begged for medical attention.

She eventually bled to death.

The family fought for reforms in the way the jail handles those with injuries. Now dubbed Emily's Protocols, the city agreed to the new policies as part of the settlement. The family must be notified within six months that the protocols are being put into place.

The Rocky Mountain News