The family of Immanueal Clark, the 30-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2022, has reached a $3.75 million settlement with the Portland City Council.
Per KATU ABC 2, court documents stated that a Portland police officer shot Clark in the back. But in the wake of the incident, the officer behind the fatal shooting was not indicted by a grand jury, drawing outrage as a result.
Clark’s family ultimately filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming that the police were wrong when they concluded that the deceased Black man was inside a car linked to a robbery. The lawsuit also alleged that for almost 30 minutes after Clark was shot, he did not receive any medical care.
RELATED STORIES
“What was the amount of time between when Mr. Clark was shot and when he received medical attention, and do we know if he was conscious while he was waiting?” City Councilor Jamie Dunphy asked during the settlement discussions.
“He was conscious while he was waiting, and the time is somewhere around 23 minutes before he actually received medical attention,” Deputy City Attorney Carey Caldwell responded.
Though the attorney for Clark’s family welcomed the settlement, he emphasized that it cannot remedy what happened. He also said authorities need to make systemic changes.
“You know, truly, until we have a truly independent means of having police oversight. We’re going to have repeat problems like this, and it doesn’t even just stop with this one case, this one particular officer who shot a man in the back, this goes to how the bureau trains his officers on rifle usage, goes to reporting, goes to the discipline process, so there’s many facets that need to be addressed here,” Juan Chavez, the director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center, said.
A spokesperson for the city’s Budget and Finance office told KATU ABC 2 that the settlement amount was the highest paid to an individual by the city.
READ ALSO: ‘I’m not the same anymore’: Teen wrongfully detained by police wins $250,000 settlement
