The city of Portland, Oregon, has agreed to pay $3.75 million to the estate of Immanueal Clark, an unarmed man who was fatally shot by police in 2022 due to a case of mistaken identity. The settlement follows a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Clark’s estate last year. Authorities mistakenly identified the 30-year-old Clark as a suspect in an armed robbery from earlier that evening and shot him in the back while he was fleeing a police stop in November 2022.
This settlement marks the largest amount recorded that the city has paid to an individual plaintiff, according to a database maintained by the advocacy group Portland Copwatch. On Thursday, city councilors unanimously approved the settlement after discussing internal disagreements within the police department regarding the appropriateness of the shooting.
An internal investigation concluded that the officer involved had violated bureau policy, yet the city’s Police Review Board, which includes members from the police department, community representatives, and an independent city staffer, voted 4-3 that the shooting was justified.
Police Chief Bob Day expressed his anger over Clark’s death but ultimately sided with the conclusion that Officer Chris Sathoff’s actions were reasonable based on the circumstances at the time. In 2023, a grand jury found Sathoff did not commit any criminal wrongdoing. On the night of the incident, a 911 caller reported being robbed at gunpoint by “definitely white” men in a fast-food restaurant parking lot.
Officers mistakenly connected Clark’s sedan to the robbery, leading to a foot pursuit when Clark, who was Black, fled upon their approach in a church parking lot. During grand jury proceedings, Sathoff testified that he observed Clark “digging his pockets” as he ran, leading him to believe Clark might be armed. He subsequently discharged three rounds from an AR-15 rifle.
