Lynnwood settles police-shooting lawsuit for $1.75 million

Published 1:30 am Thursday, October 4, 2018

LYNNWOOD — The city has paid $1.75 million to the family of a man shot and killed by a police officer last year, settling a federal lawsuit.

In the suit, a dozen people provided accounts that differ from the version of events described by police. Prosecutors deemed the shooting justified based on the detectives’ investigation.

Jeremy Dowell was a 36-year-old man with mental health issues who was wielding a knife when he was shot 10 times by Lynnwood officer Zach Yates. In the lawsuit, his family accused the officer of “outrageous and reprehensible use of deadly force.”

Yates told investigators he pursued Dowell after officers received reports that Dowell had exhibited threatening behavior in a carpet store. He said he shot Dowell after the Mountlake Terrace man refused to drop a large, fixed-blade knife he was carrying and began walking toward him. The shooting occurred on Highway 99 on Jan. 30, 2017.

The lawsuit, filed in May, contained statements from witnesses, some of whom were not interviewed by authorities. The witnesses said Yates continued to shoot Dowell even after he was on the ground and did not pose a threat.

An attorney for the Dowell family said the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office should take another look at the investigation, which was done by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, also known as SMART.

“I was mortified to learn how inadequate it was,” said attorney Ed Budge of Seattle. “The information we were able to get was available to the SMART team if they wanted it. Ignoring evidence, failing to follow up with eyewitnesses and looking the other way when an officer uses deadly force is simply unforgivable.”

The county’s elected prosecutor reviews cases of fatal force to determine whether the force was justified. Neither Lynnwood officials nor the county prosecutor’s office could be reached for comment Thursday.

Dowell’s family released a statement through their attorney.

“Jeremy suffered from mental illness, but he did not need to die,” the family said. “Detectives told us that this shooting was justified. It wasn’t.”

Terms of the agreement were reached Aug. 31 and the settlement was paid in late September, Budge said. It will be split among Dowell’s mother, Suzette Dowell; his stepfather, Robert Dowell; and Jeremy Dowell’s estate.

In the settlement, the city made no admission of wrongdoing by the officer, Budge said.

While the suit named only Yates as a defendant, the city had a legal obligation to defend Yates as one of its employees. Lynnwood’s insurance risk pool paid the settlement sum, according to Budge.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.