Police Shooting Result in $2.5M Wrongful Death Award

The family of an Oregon teen, who was shot and killed by police while threatening to commit suicide, has been awarded $2.5 million through a wrongful death lawsuit filed over the shooting. 

Lukus Glenn was shot to death outside his home by Washington County police on September 16, 2006. The family maintains that the 18 year was intoxicated and suicidal, but only posed a danger to himself at the time of the police shooting.

According to the complaint, officers failed to follow standard procedures and instead reacted with lethal force.

Glenn’s mother, Hope, had called police about her son’s behavior, warning that he was drunk and suicidal. When police arrived he had a knife to his own throat and was not responding to commands. One of the officers fired a beanbag shotgun which allegedly drove Glenn toward the house.

The officers claimed they feared he was going to harm someone in the house, while the plaintiffs argued that it was the natural reaction of someone who had just been fired on by a shotgun. The officers opened fire with live rounds, killing him.

Last week, a federal jury determined that the police used excessive force and violated his fourth amendment rights, awarding $2.5 million in damages.

For years, the family asked why he hadn’t been targeted with a stun gun or why police had not tried to de-escalate the situation. After the shooting, the sheriff ratified the officers’ actions.

The lawsuit was against Washington County and the two sheriff’s deputies who shot and killed Glenn, Tim Mateski and Mikhail Gerba. The jury determined that the officers had been given sufficient warning about the teen’s state of mind to determine that he was no threat to anyone but himself. They deliberated for less than a day before reaching a verdict.

The verdict will be paid by the county, not the officers, who are both still Washington County sheriff deputies. The family had sought about $7 million.