The Dallas City Council approved a settlement on Wednesday that could provide up to $2.8 million to the widow of a police officer killed in the deadly July 7, 2016, ambush downtown. The vote comes nearly a decade after the shooting in which a gunman opened fire during a peaceful protest, killing five officers and injuring several others before being killed by police using a remote-controlled explosive device.

Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens, a 14-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, was among those killed in the attack. His widow, Katrina Ahrens, a former Dallas police officer, filed multiple lawsuits against the city and associated entities in the aftermath. These lawsuits alleged mishandling of records and donations intended for the families of the slain officers.

One suit named the Dallas Police Association and the Assist the Officer Foundation—a nonprofit connected to the police union—as defendants. The city’s settlement vote on Wednesday was conducted without public discussion, and the precise terms remain confidential. A city spokesperson declined to comment on the approval.

In a statement, Casey Griffith, attorney for Katrina Ahrens, said the settlement marks a resolution with the city and allows her client to focus on honoring the legacy of her late husband and the other fallen officers as the 10th anniversary of the tragedy approaches.

The litigation, which is nearing a close on the city’s end, involved multiple disputes. One focused on preventing the public release of video, audio, and other materials related to the ambush, with Ahrens asserting that such disclosures could cause harm to her family. Another centered on the city’s contractual arrangement with the Assist the Officer Foundation to manage mail and donations sent to officers’ families. Ahrens claimed that this arrangement led to donations being opened, logged, and deposited without her knowledge, and that some contributions were delayed or lost.

The city’s attempts to dismiss claims against it, including arguments citing governmental immunity, were rejected twice by the 10th Court of Appeals. The Texas Supreme Court last year declined to review the case further.

A prior settlement between Ahrens and the Assist the Officer Foundation was reached in 2024, but its terms were sealed by court order. That nonprofit is no longer a defendant in active litigation. However, the Johnson County lawsuit remains pending, with the Dallas Police Association and attorney Bob Gorsky, who previously represented Ahrens, still named as defendants.

Ahrens has accused Gorsky of breaching fiduciary duties and failing to disclose conflicts of interest by simultaneously representing her and the police union and its charitable arm. In court records, both Gorsky and the police union have denied these allegations. Efforts to obtain comment from their representatives were unsuccessful on Wednesday.