Police in Washington city banned from personalizing equipment in settlement over shooting Black man

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The city of Olympia, Washington, will pay $600,000 to the family of a Black man shot and killed by police in a settlement that also stipulates that officers will be banned from personalizing any of their work equipment.

Lawyers on Monday announced the details of the settlement of a wrongful death tort claim filed by the family of Timothy Green, who was shot and killed in 2022.

The settlement stops the display of symbols on city police equipment such as the thin blue line on an American flag. The symbol has become associated with Blue Lives Matter, a term which has been used by some police supporters in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Officers had displayed Blue Lives Matter emblems and a sticker reminiscent of the yellow Gadsden flag, with its rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” message on items at the time Green was shot.

The police department is required to update its policy within one year to prohibit officers from decorating their equipment, no matter the subject matter.

Additionally, Olympia Police Chief Rich Allen, his deputy and assistant chiefs and the four officers involved in Green’s death must complete state training “on the historical intersection between race and policing.” The city also agreed that all Olympia police officers will receive more crisis intervention training.

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An Olympia Police Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

Green’s family members were prepared to file a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city if their training and policy demands weren’t met, the lawyers said.

“The settlement requires the Olympia Police Department to take steps addressing the use of force, crisis intervention, and police culture,” Olympia civil rights attorney Leslie Cushman told The Seattle Times.

Cushman, along with Seattle attorney Gabe Galanda, represented the family and crafted the settlement.

“We have been forever impacted by the death of a son, a brother, a father, and uncle,” the family said in a statement. “Tim did not deserve to die this way. And we do not want this to happen to anyone else.”

While overall use of force by Olympia Police Department officers is down 24% since 2022, 83% involved people in crisis, according to data from the Olympia Police Department’s auditor.

Cushman was the author of Initiative 940, which overhauled the state’s deadly force laws and put in place new requirements for police to focus on de-escalation.

The family is also asking the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office to reopen a criminal investigation into the shooting. The prosecutor found the shooting justified and lawful in 2023. The family has additionally filed complaints against the four involved officers with the Criminal Justice Training Commission, seeking to have their law enforcement certification revoked.

According to reports obtained by the family, Olympia police knew Green and had responded to calls about his erratic behavior multiple times before his death.

Officer Joseph Anderson and Sgt. Joseph Bellamy had responded to Green’s house just two days earlier. According to the tort claim, they knew he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and had not been taking his medications.

On Aug. 22, 2022, Anderson, Bellamy and two other officers — Brenda Anderson and Caleb Shaffer — responded to a report of a disturbance at a Starbucks. Callers reported a man screaming and “banging around” inside the store.

Green was overheard saying he wanted to “kill everyone in the town” and said, “Call the cops.”

When Joseph Anderson arrived, Green was “punching the ground” near the store. The dispatchers noted Green’s mental health diagnoses, and Anderson acknowledged that Green was the same person from the previous call.

Bellamy, a supervisor, determined that Green could be arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and pedestrian interference. While Bellamy went to get a 40-mm less-lethal projectile launcher, the other officers moved to surround Green, according to reports.

Green became frightened and dumped the contents of a backpack on the ground, retrieving a softcover Bible and a folding knife, according to the claim. Witnesses said Green held the Bible to his head and appear to be praying at one point.

According to the claim, officers Brenda Anderson and Shaffer both used a Taser on him but they failed to incapacitate him. Joseph Anderson then shot him three times, according to the claim.