Jury Awards $67 Million to Family of Austin Man Killed by Police
Jurors found that both officers' actions were "objectively unreasonable ... such as that no reasonable officer could have believed that the shooting was lawful," according to court documents. The amount of damages was based on physical pain, mental anguish, loss of companionship, and punitive damages.
A jury in a federal civil trial this week recommended that the city of Austin and two officers pay more than $67 million to the family of a man who was fatally shot by Austin police officers in 2017.
The figure could be reduced by a judge, the American-Statesman reports.
Landon Nobles, 24, was shot May 7, 2017, after downtown officers reported hearing gunfire. A relative of Nobles', who was at the scene, told the American-Statesman after the shooting that Nobles had a gun but did not point it at officers.
Austin police Lt. Richard Egal pushed his bike into Nobles as Nobles was running, then saw that Nobles was armed, police said. Nobles fell, got up and ran.
Egal and Austin police Cpl. Max Johnson viewed the move as an imminent threat and opened fire, investigators have said.
The office of then-Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore determined that the shooting was justified.
Egal and Johnson violated Nobles' Fourth Amendment right to be protected from excessive force, the jury decided. Of the total damages awarded, Egal should pay $187,500, and Johnson should pay $150,000, jurors said.
Jurors found that both officers' actions were "objectively unreasonable ... such as that no reasonable officer could have believed that the shooting was lawful," according to court documents. The amount of damages was based on physical pain, mental anguish, loss of companionship, and punitive damages.
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