Deborah Braillard jail death case: County Board of Supervisors approves $3.25M settlement

PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has voted to approve a $3.25 million settlement in the jail death case of a Valley diabetic woman.

The Board on Tuesday morning held a special meeting to discuss a settlement offer to end the lawsuit filed by the family of Deborah Braillard, who died in the county’s Estrella Jail seven years ago.

Supervisor Andy Kunasek was the single "no" vote in the 3-to-1 decision to approve the settlement.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio told news crews at an unrelated event that he wanted to see the case go to the jury. However, ABC15 contacted his attorney, Dan Struck, who said that it made sense to "resolve it now."

In September, the ABC15 Investigators were the only news organization to cover the trial. After three weeks of testimony, the trial came to an abrupt halt on Oct. 1.

The county had initially offered to pay $3.25 million, but the case headed back to trial late last month after the Board's vote ended in a tie.

Tuesday’s meeting was the third time in which a settlement was scheduled for a vote.

A public protest suspended the first vote at a meeting on October 17, and the second ended in a tie on October 31.

County supervisors had met in executive session before both meetings.

According to court records, the Board had agreed to approve the settlement before changing their mind in the public meeting.

Since the settlement failed, the judge had repeatedly asked the County to reconsider the settlement.

He also said in a hearing last week that the county could face sanctions for negotiating in bad faith.

The court had also ruled that the Braillard family could seek compensatory and punitive damages. That means a jury verdict could have been several times higher than the settlement offer.

Learn more about Deborah Braillard’s case, ABC15's exclusive investigation and our report about a timeline of her death .

ABC15 also exposed how several key pieces of evidence were altered, destroyed or went missing .