Washington State Deputy Punched Black Man During Traffic Stop for a Broken Taillight, Then Shot Him In the Head. County Pays Family $3.5M But Keeps Him on the Force
Officials in a southwestern county in Washington state agreed this week to a $3.5 million payout to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the family of a Black autistic man who was fatally shot by a deputy during a 2021 traffic stop.
The family of Jenoah Donald filed the complaint in 2022 against Clark County and several deputies and sheriff’s office employees, alleging wrongful death, assault and battery, negligence, and deprivation of civil rights.
In February 2021, Donald was pulled over by Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Boyle for a faulty taillight, the family’s suit states, according to Tacoma News Tribune. Shortly before the traffic stop, deputies heard about “suspicious activity” in the area near a reported “drug house.”
Two deputies ended up joining Boyle at the stop, one of whom later said they thought they saw a “weapon” in Donald’s car that turned out to be a screwdriver. Donald was unarmed.
According to the suit, when Boyle asked Donald to step out of the car, Donald did not immediately respond. Boyle then tried to pull him out of the car and punched him in the nose in the process.
As Boyle struggled with Donald, the vehicle’s gear shifted, causing the car to lurch forward. Boyle reacted to the gear shift by shooting Donald twice, the complaint states. One of those bullets struck Donald’s head.
He died a week later in the hospital.
He was 30 and left behind three children. His family members said he was on the autism spectrum, and had dyslexia and ADHD.
In July 2021, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office conducted an independent review that determined Boyle acted lawfully and that Donald’s vehicle could be considered a “weapon” after it shifted gears and began rolling forward.
The family argued in their suit that the stop altogether was unlawful, citing a 1999 Washington Supreme Court case that found it is unconstitutional for police to use a traffic stop as an excuse to investigate suspected criminal activity, KOMO reported.
The complaint also stated that deputies used excessive force against Donald, citing Clark County’s alleged history of not properly training officers on non-lethal de-escalation methods.
The county’s settlement with Donald’s family happened weeks before a civil rights trial for the case was set to begin in Seattle in June.
In a statement about the May 14 settlement, Clark County spokesperson Joni McAnally told local news outlets that the county “continues to deny liability for this unfortunate incident.”
Sheriff John Horch also released a statement, saying, “We never want to see an incident that results in the loss of another person’s life, and any loss of life is tragic. In this situation, deputies responded according to training and state law to protect themselves and others. Both the independent investigation and the independent prosecutorial review concluded that the decision to use deadly force was justifiable and done in good faith under state law.”
Boyle is still employed with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
“I don’t believe that he should be still employed, along with other officers that have been involved in these shootings,” Donald’s mother, Sue Zawacky, told KGW.
Zawacky continued: “I still miss [Donald]. I still would rather have him here than any amount of money, and that’s the truth. I became thankful that his kids are gonna be taken care of, they can go to college. But do I feel that there’s accountability? No. I really don’t.”
“Clark County has a choice,” family attorney Mark Lindquist said. “They can either continue to pay millions of dollars to victim families and their lawyers, or they can improve their training and their culture.”