Philadelphia will pay $1.8 million to the family of a man who was killed when a policeman, chasing an armed suspect, shot into a home during a 2008 New Year’s Eve Party.
The bullets hit three people at the party, including 33-year-old Abebe Issac, a hospital maintenance worker, according to the
Philadelphia Inquirer. The father of three young children died a week after the shooting from an infection and complications.
“We’re hoping this will in some way help his children," said Alan Yatvin, an attorney for the Isaac family. “They’re young, and they have their whole lives in front of them without their dad.”
The Isaac settlement is pending approval from Orphans' Court, which has authority because Issac’s children will be the beneficiaries for the settlement.
The police officer, George Marko, was cleared of criminal charges for firing into the home, with the district attorney’s office saying his actions were justified.
Marko and his partner were chasing a man who was firing celebration gunshots at the stroke of midnight. The police ordered the man to drop his gun, but he ran into a home, paused in the doorway, and pointed the gun at the police.
Marko fired 11 shots back at the suspect, wounding him in the elbow. He ran out of the back of the house, but was arrested the next day.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.