Oakland

Oakland to Pay $1.4M to Mom of Homeless Man Killed by Police

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A San Francisco Bay Area city has agreed to pay $1.4 million to the mother of a homeless man killed by police after they found him in a residential neighborhood with a gun in his hand.

The April 23 vote by the Oakland City Council comes more than two years after Oakland police shot Joshua Pawlik and the agreement settles a wrongful death lawsuit filed his mother, Kelly Pawlik.

Pawlik’s death prompted the Oakland Police Commission to call for the firing of the five officers involved and the commission voted in February to oust former Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick.

A caller reported Pawlik sleeping on the ground between two houses with a pistol in his hand. Officers said they fired at him because he would not put down the gun.

Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo told the news station that he voted for the settlement after a consultant told the council that a jury award could cost the fiscally troubled city up to $5 million.

Kirkpatrick has vowed to sue the city over her firing.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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