The family of Michael Marshall, an inmate killed by deputies in 2015 in Denver’s downtown jail, will receive $4.6 million from the city in an agreement that also includes policy changes in how Denver Sheriff Department deputies treat mentally ill inmates.

The settlement was announced Wednesday, and City Council will be asked to approve the settlement Nov. 13. If approved, the city will have spent more than $19 million in the past three years to settle claims against its sheriff and police departments.

The agreement ends a nearly two-year ordeal for the family of Marshall, a 50-year-old man who battled chronic psychotic episodes where he would hear voices — often those belonging to his late mother, Jesus and Elvis Presley.

Marshall was arrested Nov. 7, 2015, on trespassing and disturbing-the-peace charges after creating a commotion at a Denver motel because he was looking for his Bible. His family did not know Marshall had been jailed on a $100 bond until he was hospitalized after aspirating on his vomit while being restrained by sheriff’s deputies during a psychotic episode.

Marshall was comatose for nine days before his family chose to remove him from life support Nov. 20.

Natalia Marshall, a niece who has become the family spokeswoman, said they were relieved to have a settlement, which avoids a lengthy trial and puts to rest their appearances in front of news conferences to talk about the injustice.

Most importantly, the family hopes the changes ordered in the agreement will prevent future jail deaths. She referred to the changes as “Michael Marshall Rights.”

“I am thankful for the Michael Marshall Rights. Unfortunately, it did not save his life,” Natalia Marshall said. “I’m hoping that the Michael Marshall Rights really do save other people’s lives.”

Under the settlement provisions, the city and sheriff’s department will change how they staff and train deputies to interact with mentally ill inmates and their families.

Two on-site mental health providers who would be available round-the-clock at the Downtown Detention Center and County Jail on Smith Road will be hired by Jan. 1, said City Attorney Kristin Bronson.

Under the agreement, the sheriff’s department would require annual in-service training for all deputies on mental illness in jails and annual training that specifically addresses how deputies handle inmates who have a mental illness and how and when they decide to use force on them.

“If there would have been this type of mental health expertise at the jail the night that Michael Marshall was here, he very well could be alive today,” said attorney Darold Killmer. “The number of lives that this measure alone will save in the future is uncountable, but it’s certain to make an impact.”

In a jail video, Marshall could be seen pacing in a pod while holding a folded blanket in his arms. Deputies had placed him in an isolated, secure walkway where he continued to pace and knock over a cart. He ignored deputies’ orders to stay seated, and that’s when the situation escalated.

A deputy grabbed Marshall, who resisted, and then five other deputies piled on top while trying to get Marshall under control.

Denver’s two jails house hundreds of mentally ill people. About 25 percent of the city’s inmate population receives psychotropic medication and/or services from mental health professionals, Sheriff Patrick Firman said. The two jails house more than 2,000 people a day.

Other changes include the creation of a communication protocol for inmates suffering with mental illness and the jails’ medical staff, deputies and deputy supervisors, and the development of a protocol for notifying inmates’ families when an inmate is taken to a hospital because of illness or injury. The protocol also would allow for visits, regardless of bond status, as long as safety is not compromised.

The sheriff’s department also will rewrite policies for handling mentally ill inmates, including a requirement that deputies contact mental health professionals as soon as they recognize an inmate is suffering from a mental health crisis. Finally, the department would begin reporting on its progress in training deputies on the changes through 2023.

The decision to settle was not an easy one, Bronson said while flanked by Firman and Denver Department of Public Safety director Stephanie O’Malley.

“But in this case, after a thorough investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding Mr. Marshall’s death, the city’s proposal to City Council that the matter be resolved through settlement rather than proceeding with what was expected to be a lengthy and costly litigation,” Bronson said.

The settlement matches the amount a federal jury decided in 2014 to award the family of Marvin Booker, another inmate killed at the hands of deputies. The city eventually paid that family $6 million, which covered the jury award and attorneys’ fees.

Booker, a homeless street preacher, died after being restrained, beat with nunchakus, put in a “sleeper hold” and repeatedly shocked with a Taser. He had refused a deputy’s orders because he wanted to retrieve his shoes while waiting to be booked.

His name became a rallying cry for those who demanding reform at the sheriff’s department. The Marshall case happened in the middle of a massive reform effort at the department and less than month after Firman had been hired.

In 2016, Black Lives Matter protesters disrupted the annual MLK Day Marade to demand the city release video footage of Marshall’s death. The family has held multiple news conferences to announce lawsuits and to denounce what they said was light punishment for the deputies involved in his death.

Three sheriff’s deputies, including a watch commander, were suspended without pay for their roles in Marshall’s death — punishments that his family and their lawyers again criticized Wednesday.

The money to pay the settlement will come out of a contingency fund set aside for such unexpected financial payments.

“There’s some years where you have settlements that are higher dollar and those years where we have very low dollars in settlements,” Bronson said. “It varies. There isn’t necessarily a trend we’ve seen at all in the last few years. What I will say is that while this is a sizable settlement, this was a big case for the City and County of Denver and we did a lot of work and research to analyze the facts around the case.”

The Marshall settlement is among the highest payouts in recent years for deputy or police excessive-force cases

Along with the Booker settlement, the city paid former jail inmate Jamal Hunter $3.25 million in 2014 after he was attacked by deputies and fellow inmates while inside the Downtown Detention Center.

In January, the city paid $1 million to the family of Jessica Hernandez, a teenager shot and killed by Denver police officers as she drove a stolen car toward them in an alley. That settlement also included policy changes.

“We never take these decisions lightly,” Bronson said. “We know taxpayer dollars are at stake. We also know there’s a risk in proceeding.”

Staff writer Jon Murray contributed to this report.