On October 26, 2021, Kara Brandon filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington against the City of Vancouver and three police officers. The lawsuit sought monetary damages from the City for the death of William Abbe, who was shot and killed by VPD officers on April 28, 2020. Ms. Brandon is Mr. Abbe's biological daughter and had been appointed the personal representative of his estate. Prior to filing the lawsuit, she filed a tort claim with the City demanding $5 million.
The settlement does not concede any wrongdoing by the involved officers or the department. The three involved officers were all cleared of wrongdoing after an independent review by the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. However, both the City and Ms. Brandon agreed that juries can reach different conclusions based on the same evidence.
One component of the federal court's scheduling order was a requirement to engage in mediation. The parties did so on September 13, 2022, before mediator Chris Anderson, and reached an agreed resolution that would, subject to City Council approval, require payment by the City to Ms. Brandon in the amount of $725,000 in exchange for dismissal and release of all claims related to the April 28, 2020, incident. This amount is less than 20 percent of the original amount claimed prior to litigation, and is significantly less than what many other jurisdictions have paid to settle similar claims.
The terms of the settlement are encompassed in the attached settlement agreement. Ms. Brandon's attorney has agreed to the terms expressed therein.