COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – In January 2018, 16-year-old Joseph Haynes was shot and killed by a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy inside the juvenile court building.

On Monday, Franklin County Commissioners approved a $6.5 million settlement for Haynes’ family. According to the attorney representing the family, the vote provides a bit of closure.

Haynes was shot in the abdomen by Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy Richard Scarborough and was pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital.

Investigators said Haynes and his mother became “very agitated and disruptive” after a hearing that day. While they were being escorted from the courtroom, investigators said there was a fight involving Scarborough, Haynes and Haynes’ mother. During the fight, Scarborough was knocked to the ground and came under attack, according to the sheriff’s office.

Scarborough fired one shot, striking Haynes in the left side of the torso.

In the years since, Haynes’ family has fought for closure, listing Franklin County in a wrongful death lawsuit. The decision to settle, according to family attorney Dan Mordarski, was reached during mediation, as was the $6.5 million amount.

Mordarski said that while no amount of money can bring Haynes back and heal the pain of seeing their son shot, the vote by the commissioners is the closure to a chapter that began for the family half a decade ago.

“Shooting an unarmed child in a secure government building should have never happened, so part of what we hoped happened is to make sure that never happens again, whether that is retraining, updating policies or just making sure this kind of tragedy never happens again,” Mordarski said.

The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the settlement without questions or comments.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said Scarborough still works for the department and is assigned to the security operations division.