San Diego Settles $30 Million Police Shooting Lawsuit
A 16-year-old Black teenager named Konoa Wilson was fatally shot by a police officer while running away from another shooting at a train station in San Diego. The city has agreed to pay his family a staggering $30 million settlement.
According to court documents, the boy had been targeted by gangsters who had attacked him previously and had taken up carrying a gun for protection. Wilson was approaching the Santa Fe station when he was confronted with another teenager wielding a firearm. As Wilson fled, he narrowly missed being hit by additional gunfire.
Police Officer Daniel Gold shot Wilson in the back as he ran down the corridor, with body-worn camera footage capturing the incident. However, it's worth noting that Gold did not identify himself as a police officer until after he opened fire on Wilson.
Wilson was pronounced dead 35 minutes later at the hospital, despite officers finding a gun on his person while providing first aid. The family has alleged that Officer Gold acted with "racial violence" by shooting a Black teenager who was fleeing from another violent attack. They claim that Gold's perception of Wilson as a Black person contributed to his decision to shoot without warning.
The $30 million settlement is considered one of the largest in response to a police shooting in the US, following a similar civil settlement reached with George Floyd's family last year for $27 million.
In an interview with The New York Times, Nicholas Rowley, the attorney who worked on the case, stated that Wilson had been subjected to repeated attacks by gangsters and was carrying a gun as a result. "The reason why he had a gun is because he is half Black and there were kids, some new gangster kids in San Diego, who had jumped him a few times and hurt him so bad he was in a hospital," Rowley said.
The city of San Diego has agreed to pay the settlement as part of a business decision, rather than an admission of liability. However, family attorneys have emphasized that this payout is crucial in providing justice for Wilson's family following a tragic and avoidable death at the hands of law enforcement.
A 16-year-old Black teenager named Konoa Wilson was fatally shot by a police officer while running away from another shooting at a train station in San Diego. The city has agreed to pay his family a staggering $30 million settlement.
According to court documents, the boy had been targeted by gangsters who had attacked him previously and had taken up carrying a gun for protection. Wilson was approaching the Santa Fe station when he was confronted with another teenager wielding a firearm. As Wilson fled, he narrowly missed being hit by additional gunfire.
Police Officer Daniel Gold shot Wilson in the back as he ran down the corridor, with body-worn camera footage capturing the incident. However, it's worth noting that Gold did not identify himself as a police officer until after he opened fire on Wilson.
Wilson was pronounced dead 35 minutes later at the hospital, despite officers finding a gun on his person while providing first aid. The family has alleged that Officer Gold acted with "racial violence" by shooting a Black teenager who was fleeing from another violent attack. They claim that Gold's perception of Wilson as a Black person contributed to his decision to shoot without warning.
The $30 million settlement is considered one of the largest in response to a police shooting in the US, following a similar civil settlement reached with George Floyd's family last year for $27 million.
In an interview with The New York Times, Nicholas Rowley, the attorney who worked on the case, stated that Wilson had been subjected to repeated attacks by gangsters and was carrying a gun as a result. "The reason why he had a gun is because he is half Black and there were kids, some new gangster kids in San Diego, who had jumped him a few times and hurt him so bad he was in a hospital," Rowley said.
The city of San Diego has agreed to pay the settlement as part of a business decision, rather than an admission of liability. However, family attorneys have emphasized that this payout is crucial in providing justice for Wilson's family following a tragic and avoidable death at the hands of law enforcement.
. I mean, what if this was your kid running from a gang fight? Wouldn't you want someone to hold accountable for their reckless actions? 
The fact that the officer didn't even identify himself until after shooting is just red flag after red flag 
. It's all about prioritizing justice over following procedure, it seems like 
.
it's like, what even is this? i was thinkin bout how if it happened in our school, we'd all be traumatized & the cops would be like "sorry mate" 
I feel so bad about Konoa Wilson, he was just a teenager trying to protect himself from gang violence and got shot by the police instead... $30 million is a huge sum but it's not gonna bring him back 
. It's crazy that the officer didn't even identify himself as a cop until after shooting him... what if someone had seen that on camera and stopped him? 
The system needs to work better, especially for people of color who are already facing so many challenges in life 
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! $30 million for one kid? its just crazy! The fact that the cop didnt even identify himself as a cop till after he shot the boy is just wild, right? 
and to think the family thinks theres somethin about his skin color that led the cop to shoot him without warnin... its like, cant we just move past this already?! 
. It's crazy how they didn't identify themselves as cops until AFTER they shot him 
. That's like, basic protocol, fam 
. And $30 million? Like, that's a lot of dough 
. I hope Wilson's family gets some real justice out of this settlement 
. It's just so heartbreaking 
.
. It's crazy to me that Officer Gold didn't identify himself as a cop until after he shot Wilson - shouldn't there be some protocol in place for situations like this? 
The whole thing just seems really preventable and sad that it had to end in a $30 million settlement 
The fact that this settlement is one of the largest in US history just highlights the issue – we need better training and accountability for our cops, you know? 
. The fact that Wilson was carrying a gun as a form of self-protection due to repeated attacks by gangsters is a mitigating factor, but it doesn't excuse the shooting itself 
it was like nothing i've ever seen before! my friend told me he saw a group of surfers riding these gnarly waves too, they looked like pros or something 
anyway, have you guys tried that new ice cream shop downtown? i heard their flavors are outta this world