The estate of a man shot and killed by Portland police, and whose death caused debate inside the bureau over whether the shooting was appropriate, has settled with the city for $3.75 million.
A Portland Police Bureau officer fatally shot Immanueal Clark, 30, in the back as he fled from a police stop in November 2022. Officers had wrongfully believed that Clark was part of an armed robbery earlier in the evening. Clark was unarmed.
A grand jury cleared Officer Chris Sathoff of any crimes. But, in a rare move, Internal Affairs investigators found Sathoff broke PPB’s own rules because he had no probable cause tying Clark to the robbery when he fired three bullets from a rifle. Top brass ultimately sided with the officer.
The settlement is the largest on record paid by the city to an individual plaintiff, according to a database maintained by the advocacy group Portland Copwatch. It heads off the prospect of facing Clark’s estate, who filed its wrongful-death lawsuit in March 2024, in a civil trial…