Family of Black man fatally shot by Washington sheriff's deputy settles lawsuit for $3.5 million

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Family members of a Black motorist fatally shot by a deputy in southwestern Washington state during a traffic stop have settled their wrongful death lawsuit for $3.5 million.

The Clark County Council agreed Wednesday to make the payment in the 2021 death of 30-year-old Jenoah Donald, The Columbian reported.

Donald lived in the city of Battle Ground, Washington, and died Feb. 12, eight days after he was shot in the head by Sean Boyle, a deputy with the Clark Sounty Sheriff's Office.

The family filed the federal lawsuit in 2022 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma alleging wrongful death, assault and battery, negligence and deprivation of civil rights. Trial was set to start June 9.

Attorneys for the Donald family said in a statement that the settlement provides accountability and closure.

''This outcome honors Jenoah Donald's life and underscores a simple truth: When officers ignore their training and resort to needless lethal force, they will be held accountable,'' attorney Angus Lee said in the statement.

The county ''continues to deny liability for this unfortunate incident,'' county spokeswoman Joni McAnally told the newspaper.

Prosecuting attorneys from outside Clark County examined the shooting and found it was justified in protecting the deputies.

Deputies that night responded to a call about two cars suspiciously driving around a neighborhood and pulled over Donald's car for what they described as a faulty rear light.

Lawyers for Donald's family argued in the lawsuit that was an unlawful stop, citing a 1999 Washington Supreme Court case that found it is unconstitutional for police to use a traffic stop as an excuse to investigate suspected criminal activity.

The family's attorneys said Donald was cooperative initially. The situation escalated after another deputy, Holly Troupe, said she saw a sharp object inside Donald's vehicle, which investigators later said was a screwdriver.

A struggle ensued as Boyle and Troupe tried to pull Donald out of the car, an outside investigation showed. Boyle fired twice when Donald ignored commands to let him go as the car lurched forward with the deputy partially inside, according to investigators. One bullet hit and killed Donald.

Donald was on the autism spectrum and prone to withdrawal in stressful situations, his lawyers have said.

Donald was the second Black man killed by deputies in four months. On Oct. 29, a law enforcement task force attempted a drug sting involving 21-year-old Kevin Peterson Jr. It ended with three deputies firing at Peterson as he ran away while carrying a gun.

Peterson's family, represented by the same attorneys, sued the county in 2022. The county later agreed to pay his family $1.25 million to settle the lawsuit. That shooting also was deemed justified by prosecutors.