OLYMPIA, Wash. — The City of Olympia settled a tort claim for $600,000 with the family of Timothy Green, a Black man shot and killed by a police officer in 2022.
As part of the settlement, the city also agreed to take several actions that include, among other things, additional training for officers.
"We have been forever impacted by the death of a son, a brother, a father, an uncle. Tim did not deserve to die this way. And we do not want this to happen to anyone else," the family said in a prepared statement.
On Aug. 22, 2022, officers received 911 calls about Green, 37, acting erratically in public, first at an AM/PM and then at the Starbucks next door. According to investigators, the officers were unable to get Green into custody and he walked into traffic when approached. They tried using tasers to stop him, but that didn’t work.
Investigators said the officers on the scene claimed Green came at one of the officers while holding a knife.
An Olympia police officer shot Green, who later died at a hospital.
No charges were filed against the officer who shot Green. The Capital Metro Incident Investigation Team did an independent investigation. The Clark County Prosecutor's Office then determined the officer's actions were lawful.
The Olympia Police Department conducted its own review of the shooting.
In its own statement released Aug. 26, the city said the internal review was complete and a report is expected to be released in September.
As part of the settlement with Green's family, the Olympia Police Department is creating a policy to prohibit employees from personalizing department-issued equipment.
The department also said it will provide all patrol officers an eight-hour training focused on use-of-force when dealing with someone in a crisis within two years. This is in addition to the 40-hour course all officers take - nearly all officers except new hires have completed this, according to the department.
Additionally, the police department said all officers have begun the Criminal Justice Training Center course on the historical intersection of race and policing, which is required by a state mandate. All officers, according to the department, are on track to meet the requirement before the 2028 deadline.