• Henry Hunter, the father of Carlos Hunter, and Charles Isley, an attorney acting as guardian ad litem for Carlos Hunter's children, filed a lawsuit in March 2022 seeking damages related to officer-involved shooting of Carlos Hunter.
• Plaintiffs, the City, and the State of Washington participated in mediation through the Ninth Circuit Mediation Program in late September to determine whether the lawsuit could be settled for an agreed amount.
• The parties reached an agreement to settle the matter for $425,000, of which the City would contribute $357,000.
• This amount is less than 10 percent of what the Plaintiffs demanded to settle the case prior to litigation.

On March 7, 2019, members of the federal Safe Streets Task Force obtained a search warrant for Carlos Hunter and planned to execute the warrant by way of a traffic stop. The incident concluded with two officers using deadly force, resulting in Mr. Hunter's death. Both officers are employed by the City of Vancouver, though one was acting in his capacity as a temporary federal officer at the time.  

On March 18, 2022, Henry Hunter, acting as the personal representative for Mr. Hunter's Estate, and Charles Isley, acting as the guardian ad litem for Mr. Hunter's children, filed a lawsuit against three Vancouver officers, a Washington State Department of Corrections Officer, the City, and the State. Prior to filing the lawsuit, the family filed a tort claim with the City seeking $5 million. Due to the federal government's involvement, the matter was transferred to federal court, where it has remained in abeyance pending jurisdictional issues. Although the City had a strong defense under what is known as the "felony bar" rule, recent legislation has made it exceptionally difficult to obtain a dismissal on those grounds without taking a case before a jury.

Through the Mediation Program of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the parties engaged in mediation and reached a tentative agreement to resolve the lawsuit for $425,000, of which the City would contribute $357,000. The settlement does not concede any wrongdoing by the involved officers or the department. The involved officers were all cleared of wrongdoing after an independent review by the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. However, the City, State, and Plaintiffs recognize that juries can reach different conclusions based on the same evidence.

This settlement would be in exchange for dismissal and release of all claims related to the March 7, 2019, officer-involved shooting. This amount is less than 10 percent of the original amount claimed prior to litigation, and a fraction of what other jurisdictions have paid to settle similar claims.

1. Completely extinguishes the City's and officers' potential liability for the incident, thereby avoiding a potentially much larger verdict.
2. Enables the City and Department to move forward without concern of costly litigation and appeals that would last years.